(UPDATE, 9/24: Individuals who participate in the program must be 18 years of age or older)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Iowa Western Community College, in Atlantic, said Wednesday, that Iowa Western’s Continuing Education department is partnering with local hospitals and long-term health facilities to recruit and provide FREE Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training for the first 100 Iowa resident applicants! There will be training programs in Atlantic, Clarinda, Harlan, and at the main campus in Council Bluffs.

The cost is FREE to Iowa residents! The applicant will attend an orientation day and then their next step is to show up to their first day of class. Iowa Western offers a 75-hour class, as well as a hybrid class, which incorporates both class and lab exercises. Once the student successfully completes the class and lab, they will then take the state certification exams, offered at our Iowa Western campus, and be able to apply for CNA jobs immediately!

Rachel Jensen, Director of Continuing Education at Iowa Western, says “We want to find 100 individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of others.” Certified Nursing Assistants have the ability to make a difference in a resident’s life each and every day. This CNA Training is certainly a great initiative for the student, the facilities, the community and most important the residents.

Iowa Western hopes that the 100 free CNA’s start to address the health care workforce demand that has become more acute due to the COVID pandemic. There is a large workforce demand for CNA’s. The region of SW Iowa and the Omaha MSA currently has 6,702 Certified Nursing Assistants positions and will experience a 1.7% growth in the next five years. Currently the median pay is $15.33 an hour.

Cindy Wetterlind, IWCC Cass County Center Director, is excited for this initiative.  She said “I was very excited to hear about this initiative and the great opportunities it will bring to our community. Many providers are experiencing staffing issues and by adding 100 new Certified Nurses Assistants to the workforce residents, patients, and staff across all healthcare sectors will benefit greatly.” She has reached out to several facilities in the area and they too are excited for the opportunities that this will bring to the local area.

The IWCC Cass County Center CNA class will start on November 29th. For more information please call 712-243-5527.