Hagerstown Community College will implement new alternative healthcare education programs this school year to address employment gaps and increase high school dual enrollment courses.
Starting in August, eligible high school students can take electronic health records courses at South Hagerstown High School, and certified nursing assistant courses are offered at Smithsburg and Boonsboro high schools, introduced this past school year. Through these courses, students can obtain certifications in healthcare before they graduate, or can pursue a higher degree.
These courses were implemented through a partnership with Washington County Public Schools and the college. Under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the district pays for interested students to take classes through the college at their high school.
Jim Klauber, the president of HCC, said the Washington County Public School System is currently the largest tuition payer for the college. Along with the increase in dual enrollment classes under the Maryland blueprint, Klauber said these programs will fill a gap in the field.
“I think what has driven my calculus behind this is number one, the demand is huge,” Klauber said.
Klauber said healthcare organizations across the state are experiencing a shortage of some healthcare workers, specifically nurses.
To address a shortage of doctors, Meritus Health is building a new medical school, Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. And Klauber said with a medical school on the way, the college is working to provide staff, including nurses, for doctors that will come out of the medical school.
“Before COVID and for the longest time, you had waiting lists to get into the nursing program,” Klauber said. “During COVID, that radically changed.”
Following the pandemic for the first time since Klauber had been at HCC, numbers fell below the 56-student enrollment cap, and there was no longer a waitlist.
To address the shortage of nursing students, the college has introduced a weekend and nights nursing program to attract students who do not have time for a typical school schedule.
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Expanding dual enrollment
The dual enrollment courses in healthcare were implemented both to allow students to pursue a career while they are still in high school, and to encourage students to join the healthcare field.
"I think that helps these high school students get kind of a taste for health care professionals now," Klauber said, referring to the courses.
Labs were built in high schools using Washington County Public School System funds, and Klauber said the college provides the instructors for the courses.
Students who take the electronic health records courses will follow the electronic health records certification track to receive their certification at the end of the dual enrollment program, said Tanda Emanuel, the program manager for health information management at the college.
Emanuel said this certification would make students eligible for dozens of different jobs, or for an advanced degree in the future.
"Most importantly, the program is going to be two years and when they get done, even when they're in the program, they will be able to apply for different healthcare jobs," Emanuel said, referring to the two years of dual enrollment courses students can take while in high school.
This program also helps students get a feel for the healthcare field. Emanuel said students may decide to pursue a degree in nursing or healthcare, but the program is designed to introduce students and help put them on a career path.
Students in these classes will learn how to use the technology that is currently being used in the field for record keeping in hospitals and doctors' offices.
Klauber said the certified nursing program, which began last year as a dual enrollment program, was also implemented in part because of a demand.
"I go and see these employers all the time and they are just on me, saying 'we need more CNAs we need more CNAs,' " Klauber said. "They are in critical need."
Klauber said courses are taught to students their junior year, and then they could sit for their certification exam. Then, students could participate in junior apprenticeship their senior year.
While the certified nursing assistant program wasn't full, Klauber said students in it were successful. It will continue next school year.
Students who wish to pursue a dual enrollment degree should contact their school counselor or administrator.
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Alternative nursing program
The college was planning on implementing a night and weekends nursing program for students whose obligations restricted them from the typical nursing program classes starting in January of 2025. However, the program did not receive the necessary applicants, so is pushed to January of 2026.
"We started looking at this night and weekend nursing idea," Klauber said. "There's just a lot going on with nursing, which is a very, very intense degree."
Klauber and Karen Hammond, the director of nursing at the college, decided to pursue the alternative program to encourage people with busy lives to work towards a nursing degree.
While they did not have the necessary applicants to launch the program this January, Klauber said they had a lot of interest. But many interested students need to fulfill their prerequisites before they are eligible for the program. The college hopes that by 2026, students will have filled the necessary prerequisites, and the program will have enough students.
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