Newark Needs Work: Job Hunters Flock To Hospital’s Call For Healthcare Workers

NEWARK, NJ — In Newark, the news of jobs to be won can spread like wildfire.

Last week, more than 500 job seekers flocked to a job fair for positions at St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, organizers stated. The job fair – hosted at Essex County College in partnership with the hospital - was open to both students of Essex County College majoring in health-related fields and residents of the community interested in a career in the healthcare profession.

Saint Michael’s had announced openings in nursing, rehabilitation services, finance, information technology, engineering, clinical laboratory, respiratory care, security and support services.

The hospital, which is licensed for 358 beds, employs more than 1,250, nearly a third of whom live in Newark, administrators say.

"Saint Michael's is growing and as we add more services to the hospital, we need more staff," said John Regina, director of Human Resources at Saint Michael's. "Despite all the technological advances, hospitals are labor intensive. It takes dedicated, compassionate and competent healthcare workers to deliver the highest quality patient care services."

While 500 job seekers is an impressive total, the real pool of people seeking work was probably much higher. After receiving an overwhelming response to their original job fair post, college administrators announced that the fair had been filled to capacity and was no longer accepting applicants.

A Patch article in advance of the job fair garnered 4,500 Facebook likes.

• See related article: UPDATE: St. Michael’s Medical Center Job Fair Reaches Capacity Due To 'Huge Demand'

Other recent job fairs in Newark have drawn similarly large responses from the local community. When the Council for Airport Opportunity hosted a job fair at the Newark Public Library for positions at Newark Liberty Airport, the event drew hundreds of job seekers and a huge social media response.

• See related article: Newark Airport Job Openings: Job Fair Set For Library

Newark resident Myrlene Mondelus said her experience as a breast cancer patient at Saint Michael’s in December 2016 made her want her want to work at the hospital.

Mondelus, who is applying to Essex County College for its nursing program, said she is seeking a job in housekeeping at the hospital, according to hospital officials.

“From the moment I walked through the door to the moment I left, everyone was kind and open minded,” Mondelus said. “They made it so easy when I was scared. That’s why I would love more than anything to be a part of it.”

While Essex County College has hosted large job fairs in the past, this is the first time the county college has partnered with a single employer, said Mitra Choudhury, director of Training Inc., the career training institute run by Essex County College.

“We are trying to target specific employers that already have available jobs,” Choudhury said. “With large job fairs, it is difficult to track who got jobs. We will be looking to do these types of job fairs with other local employers going forward… It has always been our mission to help the community at large. Helping residents get jobs fulfills that mission.”

Norma Gonzalez, senior economic development director for Newark Community Economic Development Corp., said she was thrilled that Saint Michael’s and Essex County College partnered to offer the job fair.

“This job fair helped Newark residents tremendously,” Gonzalez said. “We have many Newark residents graduating in the health allied field. As I walked around, I saw a lot of Newark residents who are getting some commitments. So this is a wonderful thing.”

The growth of Saint Michael's comes two years after a state-commissioned report by Navigant Consulting recommended that the hospital be closed and replaced with an acute care center because Newark had an "abundance of hospital beds." It also comes less than 18 months after the hospital sought voluntary reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

• See related article: Newark's St. Michael's Hospital: Bankruptcy Court Approves Sale

Since then, the hospital has been sold to Prime Healthcare Services, which specializes in buying struggling hospitals and turning them around. Prime, which owns 44 hospitals in 14 states, has already invested $21 million into the hospital and plans to invest a total of $50 million by 2021.

• See related article: St. Michael's Hospital Sale Gets Final Approval: Greater Newark Stakeholders Celebrate

Photos: St. Michael’s Medical Center

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