NexusDemos

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Thirteen Douglas County school districts will have the opportunity to benefit from a $432,000 career-readiness grant awarded by the state as part of an effort to match students with family-wage, high-demand jobs in the local health care industry.

The Oregon Department of Education this week announced awards totaling $10.3 million in Career & Technology Education Revitalization Grant funds. Douglas Education Service District is the fiscal agent for the $432,367 grant awarded to the Douglas Healthcare Career Pathways Program. The program is the result of a partnership with Douglas ESD, the school districts it serves, Umpqua Community College, and 14 local health industry partners.
Funds for the 18-month grant are earmarked for two types of health care pathways, according to Analicia Nicholson, Douglas ESD’s director of Education Services. She said one pathway allows students to complete a Basic Allied Health Certificate in high school. The certificate can help a student qualify for allied health careers, such as a medical assistant, or continue education for careers such as surgical, lab or pharmacy technicians.

“When a student applies for a job and has that certificate, it tells the employer that this applicant has taken classes and has a background in the subject matter,” Nicholson said. “It also signals the candidate could be successful in this position.”
The program’s second component is geared toward students on a path to careers that require more education and training, such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and physician assistants. It will consist of classes or other structured guidance to help students ensure they have enrolled in the necessary prerequisites and curriculum to follow through with their goals, Nicholson said. The program will also arrange for UCC staff to collaborate with high school teachers for students on both pathways, so that teachers are prepared to lead the classes their students will need.
Randy Hubbard, a registered nurse and main surgical services manager at CHI Mercy Medical Center, said the CTE grant approval and revitalization project will help create new and exciting educational pathways and career opportunities for local high school students.

“In health care, the demand for allied and nursing professionals far exceeds the supply,” Hubbard said. “The CTE grant, Douglas ESD, local health care facilities and efforts from leaders throughout the community – all will play key roles in building a highly skilled local talent pool.”

The program is also a boon to the local economy, helping employers fill job openings in a competitive field – ideally with homegrown workers.

According to the Oregon Department of Education, graduation rates for students in Oregon CTE programs are 15.5 percent higher than the statewide average.

November 18, 2017

The News-Review

I wanted to reach out to the community this fall with a quick update regarding our work on the allied health college initiative work group that my colleagues and I successfully created in this year’s 2017 legislative session. It is no secret that our community and the greater Southern Oregon region has seen heavy hits to our economic health due to federal timber resources restrictions.

Despite the struggles felt in our part of the state, one area of our economy has seen growth. Health care in our region has expanded to keep up with our community’s growing needs. Health care demand throughout Southern Oregon is so great that CHI Mercy Health and the Roseburg VA have had trouble finding enough medical personnel to staff the massive need.

I believe that part of the solution to revitalizing our struggling economy and demand is to tap into this health care need, to drive future growth and long-term stability. We need to make it possible for our health care providers to continue providing and expanding services, especially as our population ages and we continue to see more retirement age individuals move into the area. We need to connect workers with new career job training opportunities and good health care jobs.

That’s why building an allied health college in Roseburg, which is centrally located in Southern Oregon, makes good economic and social sense. Not only will the school increase opportunities for those interested in the health care field, but the influx of students, faculty and their families will trigger supporting industries, strengthening and expanding economic activity in the region.

The beauty of this solution is that it is not dependent on attracting and retaining some large out-of-state corporation. Rather, it allows us to “grow our own.” Expanding our local economy in this way will help transform Roseburg, and Southern Oregon, into a place where our youth will want to call home after graduation.

This last legislative session, I worked with Oregonians for Rural Health, which includes among many others the Umpqua Economic Development Partnership, CHI Mercy Health and Roseburg VA, in securing bipartisan support for a state-supported work group, tasked with advancing the allied health college initiative. These steps signify a level of commitment from the state of Oregon that this project has not previously enjoyed.

In addition to securing state involvement in the effort, the project has seen increased support from community leaders and elected officials across the region and state. It was expanded on our partnerships with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs. The college would enable the VA to grow its own health care workforce, ensuring better care for our veterans who in Douglas County make up roughly 20 percent of our total population. Not only that, but veterans with medical training coming off active duty would be able to attend a college that provides them an opportunity to build upon and apply their skills in a civilian setting.

I believe the allied health college will be an important part of a revitalized regional economy and improved access to the critical health care services. This project will help the Douglas County area rediscover our sense of purpose, strength and identity.

We are a strong and ambitious people here in Douglas County and all we are asking for is that people let us earn and shape our own destiny. I ask for your support, and most of all your prayers, that we will achieve our goals in this worthy endeavor.

Dallas Heard is the Republican state representative for District 2.

On Monday, October 23, 2017, The Oregon Economic Development Association presented to Douglas County’s Umpqua Economic Development Partnership, for the second year in a row, the award for Best in Exceptional Economic Development Marketing and Promotions in the state. This year’s award is presented for ‘The Great Umpqua’ campaign and promoting ‘The Great Umpqua July 4th Food Truck Competition’.

The Exceptional Economic Development Marketing and Promotions award recognizes innovative and effective marketing used for attracting, retaining and fostering business development as well as communications vehicles used by economic development organizations. The campaign included brochures, paid advertising, newsletters, newspaper, TV, magazine articles, website and social media campaigns.

The Great Umpqua July 4th Food Truck Competition is one of Douglas Counties largest single-day event, drawing in over twenty thousand attendees. This event and others produced by the Partnership are a fantastic example of mixing tourism and economic development. These types of events give people from outside our area a glimpse of the wonders of The Great Umpqua!

With special thanks to Douglas County and the City of Roseburg for support funding from dedicated economic development and tourism funds provided through the Oregon Lottery and transient lodging receipt and to our generous corporate sponsors Toyota/Clint Newell and Jordan Cove for which without their support this event would not have been possible.

The 1^st Biennial Southern Oregon Trades Career Expo was held on September 28^th, 2017 at the 7 Feathers Convention Center in Canyonville. Exhibitors set up display booths inside the conference room and out in the large parking lot to entice students and adults to check them out.

Many exhibitors had hands on activities and encouraged the attendees to get a feel for the different job opportunities that await them here in Douglas County.

On September 17^th, 2017, UEDP Executive Director, Wayne Patterson journeyed to Salem, Oregon on the invitation to tour the Salem Career and Technical Education Center. The center is a facility where students can integrate core academics like math or reading, with hands on technical skills that are just as valuable to their future. Here they gain real-world experience through participation in school based enterprises, project based learning or internships. Many of their programs offer college credit or lead to industry recognized certifications and credentials.

If a student is in the Pelham, Pinkerton, Salem, Timberlane or Windham high schools, then they can attend the Salem CTE. There is no cost for CTE tuition or transportation. Salem CTE is free to the student.

Salem CTE offers a different approach to education. By providing hands-on real-world experience, students can learn the way that works best for them. They learn the necessary skills for success in the working world right out of high school, or they can get transfer credits for college programs.

Salem CTE offers a wide variety of programs that range from automotive technology, and biomedical science to teacher preparation and television & media production.

Wayne could see fist-hand the students, the class interaction and the self-determination in the students as they learned real-world employable skills.

On September 21^st, 2017 UEDP and the coalition for the Allied and Mental Health College met with the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs in the first official meeting of The Rural Medical Training Workgroup. The workgroup was created by the 2017 Legislature in a budget note in HB 5006 that states: Due to the shortage of nurses and medical technicians in the City of Roseburg and Douglas County that would be required to staff the approved Veterans’ Home.

The workgroup moved through introductions quickly and al assured each other of the value and urgency of this investigation. The workgroup reviewed the past local efforts to date and took the opportunity to define future efforts and scope of the project.

The workgroup will investigate issues related to alleviating a shortage of skilled and experienced nurses and medical technicians in the City of Roseburg and in Douglas County. The Chair of the workgroup, ODVA Director Cameron Smith, will report the results and recommendations to the Legislature by September 15^th, 2018.