Healthcare occupation courses lose funds Four-year grant ends March 31, leaving the future of classes uncertain

MONICA VILLACORTA Opinion Editor @MVillacorta48

The 19 million dollar grant awarded to the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District ends March 31 with uncertainty about whether the courses it funded will continue.

The four-year grant was funded by the Department of Labor to implement a core science curriculum, according to the Program Director of Los Angeles Healthcare Competencies to Careers Consortium (LAH3C) Maria Calpito. Pierce College added four healthcare occupation courses (HOCS) funded by the grant.

“These four courses are the fundamental, foundational competencies that students would be exposed to if they want to go into the healthcare field,” Calpito said.

The course names are HOC62 Skillsets for the Healthcare Professional, HOC63 Basic Medical Terminology, HOC64 Cultural and Legal Topics and HOC65 Fundamentals for the Healthcare Professional.

Originally, Los Angeles Trade Tech College applied for the grant to help increase the chances of students finding employment within healthcare industries.

“For the next 20 years, there are going to be a lot of jobs available,” said Richard Mellinger, the Pierce College director of LAH3C. “It's training students in competencies and developing the curriculum that addresses all of the things that the employers are asking.”

The Healthcare Job Fair last Wednesday at Pierce was the final event funded by the LAH3C grant. It brought in guest speakers from various jobs in the medical field.

“We want to make sure that you are aware of all the different types of healthcare opportunities that are out there, especially for our students in the LAH3C program,” said the Counselor of Economic and Workforce Development David Turcotte.

Pierce benefitted a little over 1 million dollars from the grant, according to Mellinger. It funded courses, resources and healthcare exploration events.

“There’s been over $100,000 spent on the nursing program, enhancing their simulation lab and restoring their DVD library,” Mellinger said.

“For the Kinesiology 117 program, we brought in models and we helped pay for textbooks so the students can train to take the exam to become certified personal trainers.” anyone only to ask about his or her immigration status.