HARRISBURG, Pa. — There is a critical shortage of medical assistants in Pennsylvania and across the country.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found there would be 123,000 medical assistant job openings each year and not enough staff to fill them.
To address this issue, the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) partnered with more than 30 community health centers to fund medical assistant training programs.
Some of those programs will be in south central Pennsylvania.
The PACHC received short-term funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Ten million dollars of that funding was allocated to support training and hiring initiatives for frontline workers, including medical assistants.
One of these training programs was created at Hamilton Health Center in Harrisburg for students in the Harrisburg School District.
Seniors can attend at no cost for four hours a day and four days a week for 10 months. All transportation and meals will be provided. Students who become certified after the program will be offered full-time employment and enter into a one-year supervised apprenticeship program.
Healthcare officials say training programs like this will finally eliminate barriers for people wanting to work in the field and fix the severe shortage.
"They're with a group of individuals who are more than willing to groom you, and give you the tools that you need to be successful," said Gillian Lawrence, healthcare workers specialist at PACHC. "The barriers are eliminated for folks who may have some financial insecurities, or have some barriers to access as far as education is concerned.”
Terese Delaplaine, president and CEO at Hamilton Health Center, says not only do these programs help with the shortage, but they also help the community of Harrisburg as a whole.
"Community doesn't mean just putting bandaids on people and giving them pills," said Delaplaine. "There is a need to employ young people [in Harrisburg] and to offer them employment opportunities that they might not get someplace else."
For Delaplaine, the program is an opportunity she wished she had at a young age.
"We're willing to give you this exposure at absolutely no cost, and to make your last year of high school meaningful," said Delaplaine. "If you don't want to go to college or you're not sure what you want to do, you will now have employable skill sets beyond those of your peers. To me, I see it as a win-win."
In south central Pennsylvania, these health centers are included in the partnership with PACHC: Family First Health, Hamilton Health Center, Keystone Health Center, Sadler Health Center and Union Community Care.