Edmonds Community College Launches New Health Care Training Program

announced the launch of a new health care training program: Creating Access to Careers in Healthcare (CATCH).

The program will prepare 500 low-income adults in Snohomish County for jobs such as pharmacy technician, EKG technician, clinical lab assistant and nursing assistant. The endeavor seeks to assist both the county's poverty problem and the serious job shortage in the field of local medical services.

John House, who was most recently Director of Special Projects for the Center for Learning Connections at Highline Community College, has been chosen as the director for the new college program.

The first year of the CATCH Program will be funded by a $1.4 million grant from Department of Health and Human Services.

Through online learning, hands-on skills labs, and clinical work experience at partner health care facilities, students in the program will prepare for their new careers. The training they receive through CATCH will serve as a foundation for those who wish to eventually become pharmacists or medical technicians.

In a press release from the college, House expressed the importance of a program like CATCH.

“Low income parents who work long hours in low wage jobs to support their families often find it difficult to take classes,” he wrote. “The CATCH program is designed to help people catch a successful future. CATCH not only provides access to high-demand, high-skill health care careers but also provides a community-wide foundation of support to help students achieve success each step of the way.”