The College of Southern Maryland’s (CSM) Continuing Education and Workforce Development team and the St. Mary’s County Nursing Center (SMNC) are celebrating their three-year partnership that outlasted the crisis that inspired it. As COVID-19 was spreading across the country in 2020, CSM and SMNC collaborated to create solutions that upskilled SMNC staff, created a solid workforce pipeline for the center, and produced student-employees who continue to provide focused patient care. SMNC began hiring entry-level employees as Residential Care Assistants (RCAs), who were trained to perform many tasks of a Geriatric Nursing Assistant (GNA). While working as RCAs, employees were also students in CSM’s GNA program with support from CSM’s Workforce Development Sequence Scholarship. With the scholarship, student-employees were compensated to study, attend class, and receive mentoring to hone their skills in the classroom and in the workforce.
