When AVTEC closed its Allied Health Program in Anchorage this year, it was forced to end relationships with some rural communities that used AVTEC’s professors for their Certified Nurse's Assistant, or CNA, programs. The good news for students in Bethel is that not much will change for them. Jeremy Osborne, Director of Programs at the Yuut Elitnaurviat learning center, says that despite the AVTEC program's closure, Yuut's six-week CNA program will run as planned.
“So we were going to do this regardless of if they closed down or not, but when they decided to close down, we got the same instructors. It’s just a little bit cheaper," Osborne said.
He says because the instructors are working as independent contractors, it saves Yuut money. Not much, but that’s money that can be spent in other places.
The CNA program at Yuut has already been a direct path to jobs for many Delta residents. Osborne says that many graduates go to work at the Yukon Kuskokwim Elders Home.
“It’s an amazing job. It’s very demanding, it’s elder care. And right now they’ve pretty much told us that they will take as many people as we can train," Osborne said.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel offers a similar semester-long program that will also continue as usual.