This serves as a barrier for many skilled professionals, Cross Over Community Development Executive Director Catherine Bitwayiki.
“We noticed many people had registered as nurses, doctors and pharmacists,” Bitwayiki said during a graduation ceremony on Wednesday. “We realized we had many people like that who would benefit from having a specialized ESL that can get them to an entry point in health care.”
The first-ever Dayton cohort for this community health worker program saw a dozen graduates this week. The program was offered in partnership with Ohio University and the Ohio Alliance for Population Health.
Many of the program’s students included graduates of Cross Over Community Development’s six-month-long English program for healthcare workers, but other community members also graduated from the health worker program.
Community health workers are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the communities they serve, program coordinators explained.
“They’re people who have a passion for helping their community,” said Kerri Shaw, director of community health workforce programs at Ohio University. “So we really want to minimize barriers to get people into our classroom.”
Students, hailing from countries like Mexico, Colombia and Ukraine, attended multiple classes per week over the last several months. Their courseload included more than 100 hours of training that cover multiple certificates in basic life support, computer skills and other necessary development.
These students can get certified by the state’s Board of Nursing after they complete 130 hours of community-based work under the supervision of healthcare professionals.
Jessica Ashe, a program director for Cross Over, said career-based English courses are highly motivating and tap into knowledge new Americans had before they moved to the States.
“There’s a hole in the market for credentialing programs,” Ashe said. “We have already developed a construction industry partnership as our next pathway for our English learners. There are multiple fields within that industry — electricians, HVAC, welding — and we’re going to get their language up to speed so that they can enter those programs in development.”
Cross Over is also developing additional ESL pathways, like early childhood education and other healthcare professions. The nonprofit is seeking partners to further develop these programs, Ashe said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
About the Author
