SECOND ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Jada Owens; Natalie Jones, Ashley Roy; Hannah Liller; Heather Darby
THIRD ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Cheyenne Hamrick; Kathy Supak, (Instructor); Kassi Kackley
Thomas, WV – Cortland Acres has partnered with Tucker County High School to offer a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course for school credit. Open to TCHS seniors as well as local residents, the half-day, ten-week course enables students to utilize Cortland Acres’ vast facilities for classroom instruction and hands-on training to earn their CNA certification.
The idea of partnering with Tucker County High School to help enhance the future of area youth has long been a vision at Cortland Acres. Even so, it took the right people working together for almost five years to make that vision a reality. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the students of Tucker County High School who want to go into the nursing field,” explains vice principal William Shahan. “Our students are able to get their CNA certification, if they choose that path, while still in high school and have a career right after graduation.”
Monday through Friday from 7 am to 11am at Cortland Acres, six local high school students and four adults from the community participate in a series of classroom lectures and direct application of skills acquired to assist residents with their basic needs.
“Working closely with patients on a daily basis, our CNAs observe not only the obvious changes in a residents’ physical condition but the subtleties of their emotional state,” explains Kathy Supak, CNA program and instructor coordinator at Cortland Acres. “Our CNA students have impressed me with their level of dedication and sense of responsibility. Their skills and perception can have enormous impact on helping patients make it through recovery or come to terms with a long-term condition.”
Together with TCHS principal Stephen Cosner, vice principal William Shahan and superintendent Eddie Campbell, Cortland Acres hopes the CNA course becomes a regular health elective in the TCHS curriculum.
Skills acquired as a certified nursing assistant prepare students for a long-term career in the nursing field.Graduation from the course is slated for Friday, April 6, 2018 at 6:00 pm at Cortland Acres.
Cortland Acres is a non-profit corporation offering state-of-the-art nursing care and skilled rehabilitation on a spacious 35-acre campus is the heart of scenic Tucker County, West Virginia. The Cortland campus includes a 94-bed long-term care facility, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and therapy options, as well as a variety of independent living opportunities. For more information call 304-463-4181 or visit www.cortlandacres.org.
