LA WORKS RECEIVES GRANT UNDER GOVERNOR'S NURSE WORKFORCE INITIATIVE TO IMPLEMENT PEDIATRIC INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR REGISTERED NURSES

IRWINDALE, CA-- On September 29, Governor Gray Davis announced the award of State Nurse Workforce Initiative (NWI) grant funds to 13 regional partnerships to put nearly 2,000 new nurses into the California workforce. The initiative incorporates both short-term and long-term measures to recruit, train, and retain a culturally diverse nursing workforce to meet the state's healthcare needs. The first phase of the program includes $21.1 million in grants, including $811,650 to LA Works to implement a Pediatric Internship Program for Registered Nurses. The purpose of the Nurse Workforce Initiative (NWI) is to assist the healthcare industry and local workforce investment agencies in recruiting, training, and retaining sufficient numbers of licensed nurses to meet California's current and long-term need for nursing care. The state has funded demonstration projects that employ innovation and creativity in program design, effective marketing and outreach strategies, and strong performance evaluation.

"We are excited about the chance to play a major role in filling a substantial void in the healthcare industry," says LA Works CEO, Sal Velasquez. "This is a fine example of a WorkSource center stepping up to fill an industry need."

LA Works' RN Internship in Pediatrics Project will utilize a specialized curriculum developed by Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) to provide intensive training to new nurse graduates hired by CHLA and three other Southern California pediatric acute care facilities (Children's Hospital of Orange County, Children's Hospital San Diego, and Loma Linda University Children's Hospital). The overriding objectives of this workplace reform initiative are to increase the recruitment, preparedness, and retention of new nurse graduates hired as Registered Nurses (RNs) by the four participating hospitals. These Children's Hospitals have teamed with local Workforce Investment Boards, healthcare labor and professional associations, and education agencies to form the RN Internship in Pediatrics Project partnership. The partnership will be led under the State Nurse Workforce Initiative grant by LA Works, a Los Angeles County-based workforce development agency and WorkSource Center System Operator. The partnership will operate the Project in the counties where the participating Children's Hospitals are located; Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and San Diego County. The RN Internship in Pediatrics Project will train 110 nurses over an 18-month period. LA Works WorkSource Center provides a wide range of professional services to businesses, including: On-the-Job Training Programs, Job Placement and Training Assistance, Internet Job Postings, Recruitment Services, Videoconferencing and Consultant Works; and to job seekers a comprehensive system of training, placement and career planning services. Based in Irwindale and with a Mini Career Center located at the Bonita Unified School District Campus, LA Works was founded in 1976 as the primary public job training and placement center for residents of cities in the east San Gabriel Valley.

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