Coweta nursing students Savanna Byrd and Leah Robinson are learning firsthand that the education and business communities in Coweta County know how to work together.
Byrd, who will graduate from East Coweta High School in 2015, and Robinson, a 2014 graduate of Northgate High School, are among the many local students who have taken advantage of the dual-enrollment program that allows them to complete high school while also earning college credits through West Georgia Technical College classes at the Central Educational Center (CEC) in Newnan.
Byrd and Robinson are some of the first students to pass the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) exam with the fee paid by community leaders through the Newnan-Coweta Chamber.
“I had no idea the exam fee would be paid,” said Byrd. Learning that her $112 exam fee would be covered by The Chamber made her study even more, Byrd said. “I knew that I needed to work hard (to pass the exam).”
The students’ instructor at CEC, LPN Dorothy Floyd, said the program to cover the CNA exam fee was “a gift that was given to them.”
Robinson was also unaware her exam fee would be covered.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but it was very nice and very helpful,” she said.
Both students said they believe the exam fee is a hindrance to some students and they do not take the gift lightly.
Mark Whitlock, CEO of CEC, said the program to cover CNA exam fees was a collaboration between The Chamber and CEC. He noted that the program encourages students to complete college while serving to get trained workers into the workplace.
“That was a key lever that we could pull,” he said, adding that Coweta has “a systematic approach to supporting healthcare in this community.”
The Chamber has recognized for several years that Coweta County is rapidly becoming a healthcare destination. Both Piedmont Newnan Hospital and Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s Southeastern Regional Medical Center opened state-of-the-art facilities in 2012.
As Coweta continues to expand its healthcare services, the need for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) increases as well, chamber representatives said. The CNA designation is an important certification for those entering the healthcare field, and increasingly the CNA is required to enter the Registered Nurse (RN) program at the college and university level.
In 2013, the Newnan-Coweta Chamber received a grant to assistant technical school graduates in obtaining their professional status as a CNA. The grant was given to The Chamber by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit organization that works for improved educational attainment.
Those interested in obtaining more information on the program or in contributing to the fund to cover the CNA exam fees can call the Newnan-Coweta Chamber at 770-253-2270, email [email protected] or visit www.newnancowetachamber.org.
