Community support of nursing and workforce development programs is creating life-changing opportunities for people in our community. Latanya Smith (right) was among two dozen local community members to earn their Certified Nursing Assistant credentials through a free, six-week preparatory course funded by community donations to the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation. Latanya worked full-time as a personal care aide and parttime on the Environmental Services team at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital and had struggled to find the time and money for the $1,000 CNA course.
Today, she is working fulltime at Sentara Martha Jefferson hospital as a patient care technician, while training to run electorcardiograms and other cardiac monitoring equipment. Her dream is to become an RN. “I’m taking baby steps toward it, but that is my end goal,” she says. “This opportunity to advance my career has meant the world to me.” Read Latanya’s story https://mjhfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Back-to-school_final.pdf.