Two Broadway House Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) recently took part in a National Apprenticeship Week event at Bergen Community College, highlighting the innovative ways we partner with educational institutions like Essex County College to address the national shortage of healthcare workers and create a pipeline for career advancement. The event highlighted opportunities provided by New Jersey’s community colleges for people to earn a living while getting the training needed to advance their careers.

Kathleen Frazier and Ashley Devoe became licensed CNAs at Broadway House through our unique partnership with Essex County College. Ms. Frazier initially began working as a home health aide through a staffing agency. She recalled, “I became interested in becoming a CNA because I like to deal with people. Since completing the course at Essex County College, and now working at Broadway House, I’ve learned a lot about interacting with people on a wider scale, rather than just one-to-one.”

A former home health aide, Ms. Devoe first read about Broadway House while exploring career opportunities for CNAs on the internet. After learning more about the Broadway House mission, she reached out to Chief Operating Officer Donnamarie Lynch, MBA, MHA, PhD, who urged Ms. Devoe to complete an online course for temporary certification before working at Broadway House. “I passed, and then enrolled in the CNA course at Essex County College for certification,” Ms. Devoe said. “I’m so happy that I passed the two-month course.” Continuing her career growth, Ms. Devoe was recently certified as a phlebotomist and is now working with our partner, University Hospital.

Mitra Choudhury, Director, Training, Inc., at Essex County College, said, “We are so proud of Ashley and Kathleen, our stellar apprentice students. We are also thankful to Dr. Lynch and her team at Broadway House for working with Essex County College in making this happen.”

Cathy Skelley, Program Coordinator Special Projects, Training, Inc. at Essex County College, added, “Big congrats to our two amazing apprenticeship completers, Ashley and Kathleen, who received their CNA credentials at Essex County College. To see them reach their goals makes it all worthwhile. It is always a pleasure to partner with Broadway House. I’d also like to thank Dr. Lynch for upskilling your employees to receive training and certification at Essex County College.”

Dr. Lynch said, “Our goal at Broadway House is to be a conduit for dedicated, talented healthcare workers like Kathleen and Ashley to grow in their careers. Their success upholds our mission to bring the very best care to vulnerable populations in Newark.”