GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – For over 100 years, HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center has supported its local talent. In turn, they reinforce their hospital staff.
St. Mary runs a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) school in-house, offering paid training for employees who want to start a career in health care.
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“I lead our HSHS St. Mary’s CNA school, so it’s a certified nursing assistant training program that we hold here in Green Bay at St. Mary’s Hospital,” said Clinical Nurse Educator Morgan Wolfgram. “We teach them the essential skills and provide them with the knowledge to take care of patients within our hospital walls.”
The program is structured so that students are hired by the hospital, trained on-site, and placed into jobs on the floor immediately after finishing the course.
“Students are employed and start on the floor, then they transition to a position with St. Mary’s CNA school. We teach them and then they transition right back to the floor and have a job right away — so that’s one of our perks of the program,” Wolfgram said.
The nursing school was housed in the same building as the hospital until 1927, when a new building was constructed behind the hospital to house both the nursing school and the nurses’ residence.
Shelby Michaels, a current CNA student, said the program is both intense and rewarding.
“It’s been an intense first week, but I’ve learned a lot,” Michaels said. “But I’ve been doing this for the last six years, so it feels like a refresher — but more of an in-depth and very knowledgeable refresher.”
What stood out most to her was the hospital’s investment in the students.
“They have the CNA school right in-house; they’re giving you the opportunity for you to go — paying for it,” Michaels said. “There’s so much opportunity just within this hospital alone that I feel other people should experience.”
For Eric Warrichaiet, a CNA who graduated from the program and now works at St. Mary’s, the training was a turning point.
“I was looking for a career to make a difference and to help people,” he said. “So I researched the program, got into the program, and now I’m here.”
That support doesn’t end after certification.
“They help you sign up to get your state license afterwards, and after that, they give you a follow-up,” Warrichaiet said. “It’s awesome. You have a lot of support. And CNA school — it’s not the end. So if you’re looking to advance, you have support through that.”
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As Wisconsin’s population ages, the demand for caregivers is only expected to rise. The Wisconsin Hospital Association says residents over 65 make up about 20% of the state’s population, but account for about 40% of hospital and clinic visits. That demand is growing faster than the health care workforce can keep up.
With St. Mary’s celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Clinical Nurse Educator Morgan Wolfgram says the CNA school is a continuation of a mission that goes back more than a century.
