NEW ORLEANS – Ochsner Health System has been recognized as one of four 2017 Frontline Healthcare Worker Champions by CareerSTAT, an employer-led initiative of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. The CareerSTAT recognition program showcases healthcare organizations making exemplary investments in their frontline workforce. Ochsner was recognized for providing an example of how training and skills development can benefit employees and employers.
“As the largest private employer in the state of Louisiana, Ochsner Health System is aware of the impact we can have in increasing meaningful employment opportunities for the region,” Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health System. “We have a remarkable team who has initiated and developed successful training programs for medical assistants, medical students and allied health professionals, enabling us to better serve our communities. We are committed to being a good corporate citizen as part of the change to partner in developing solutions like these.”
Since 2013, Ochsner has adopted a more holistic approach to workforce development designed to cultivate personally resilient employees, reps said. Ochsner has also begun actively recruiting young local students and non-traditional job-seekers, including people with criminal records, into careers in healthcare. MA NOW (Medical Assistants New Orleans Works) is Ochsner’s accelerated 12-week training program which gives un/ underemployed members of the community, most who had no prior healthcare experience, the chance to become medical assistants (MAs). One hundred percent of MA NOW graduates have been placed in a position and the retention rate of Mas trained through MA NOW is 94 percent, compared with 84 percent for other Ochsner MAs.
“We commend the 2017 CareerSTAT Champions for their outstanding efforts to develop and promote their frontline,” says Joanne Pokaski, Director of Workforce Development at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. “We know these practices can strengthen frontline retention rates, increase employee engagement, and improve performance. We are immensely proud to see these organizations providing their frontline workers with opportunities for career and personal growth. As an employer-led effort, CareerSTAT knows that investing in the skills and careers of frontline workers is beneficial to employees and employers.”
CareerSTAT is a network of almost 200 healthcare leaders promoting investment in the skills and careers of frontline workers. They support healthcare organizations in developing, scaling, and sustaining development programs by: engaging healthcare leaders in peer-learning, documenting effective workforce development programs and policies, studying the business impact of workforce investments, providing technical assistance on program development, and recognizing Champion organizations.
