BY ANDREAS YILMA
NAUGATUCK – Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers is looking to extend its educational opportunities to high school students interested in a career in health care.
Griffin opened a new 6,000-square-foot campus at 1186 New Haven Road in December to train particle nurses. The building features state-of-the-art simulation technology and an experimental learning environment.
Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said the hospital approached him to discuss a partnership that would provide educational opportunities for borough high school and adult education students and others in the community.
“There are a large number of potential opportunities,” Hess said. “Now we’re having further meetings with the school and we’re in the process of implementing these new pathways right now.”
Burgess Julie Rosenblatt said borough, school and hospital officials planned to meet again and that it looks to be a go ahead to do a Patient Care Technician and Certified Nursing Assistant programs for students.
Although the high school has a CNA program, it makes sense to fold everything in together which would include CNA, EMT and PCT programs.
The partnership would also possibly use the school’s skills lab and potentially collaborate with Northwest Regional Workforce, out of Waterbury, Burgess Kimberly Gallo said.
“I think what we’re trying to do is to be that conduit that says, ‘oh we have a skills lab at the high school. Let’s get this group together. We have this opportunity at Northwest, let’s get this group together,’ ” Gallo said. “That’s what we were able to put together for them, is to put the right people with the right people because we have those connections.”
This new partnership comes after Gallo and Rosenblatt spearheaded a student and trades initiative for Naugatuck High School seniors who are interested in going into the trades in conjunction with the Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute in Hartford.
The trades course was expected to begin on Jan. 22 and will run through the end of the spring semester with a culmination of 120 hours. Students will receive $200 from the institute after completion of the course. The course will touch on several areas of the trades including construction, electric, plumbing, wielding, roofing, brick laying and sheet metal work.
Naugatuck High School Principal John Harris, who was thrilled about the new endeavor between the school and the trades training institute, previously said he would look to make the course worth 0.5 math credit because a big portion of it is related to that subject.
Hess said the borough is excited about the new pathways for trades, the health care industry and now looking to add manufacturing to the list where borough officials have begun conversations with Harris and Superintendent of Schools Christopher Montini about getting manufacturing classes.
“We’ll be working on a partnership possibly with Waterbury because they have manufacturing classrooms that are available right now,” Hess said. “So we want a whole host of pathways in addition to college opportunities. It’s a good thing.”
A lot of development is headed to the borough but if the borough can enhance its own education with the projects and local students aren’t only learning but becoming involved in the future of the community is exciting, Gallo said.
“The economy has shifted. The need for health care people is definitely at a crisis level. They need people there. The trades, we need people that can do the important things that need be done to keep our economy going,” Burgess Charles Marenghi said. “So this isn’t a cost. This is an investment by every definition
