Quality HealthCare Teaches Students How To Care For Patients

Beth Hakli’s passion is taking care of people.

And for the past 35 years of her life, she has been taking care of patients as a nursing assistant and a registered nurse. Beth also has been a patient, which gave her a deeper understanding about the crucial role of nursing assistants in the growing health care industry.

Her successful nursing career led her to become a new entrepreneur by opening Quality HealthCare Training Center at 5840 Progress Parkway, which held its re-grand opening September 1.

The medical training center specializes in educating people to receive their STNA, or State Tested Nursing Assistant certification, as well as cardio pulmonary resuscitation and life support courses. The center also offers its graduates comprehensive job placement.

“I’ve also been a patient and I know what you should and what you shouldn’t do as a nursing assistant,” said Hakli. “You have to treat every human being as if they were your loved ones.”

Quality HealthCare Training Center originally opened in August 2010, but quickly outgrew its 2,200-square-foot Hamilton Drive facility and moved to a 4,000-square-foot building just over four weeks ago.

To become certified as a nursing assistant, students must successfully complete 59 hours of class work and 16 hours of clinical training. Quality HealthCare Training Center also features a lab of sorts with hospital beds and other medical equipment to help students learn the proper techniques of taking care of patients.

“There is a lot of role playing,” said Cindy Scaperato, student development coordinator for Quality HealthCare Training Center. “Students pair up and one student will lie in bed playing the patient, while the other student plays the nursing assistant.”

Students learn how to change the bed sheets while the patient is in bed, how to put a patient in bed, how to get the patient out of bed, how to brush their teeth, brush their hair and other techniques in caring for patients.

“This role playing is important because they get an understanding of what it feels like to be a patient and it helps prepare our students for the workplace” said Scaperato.

Graduates of the nursing assistant program don’t have trouble finding jobs. Turnover among nursing assistants is high because many go on to become nurses, physical therapists, occupational or speech therapists.

What’s more, with the aging population there will be greater demand for home health care services, as well as new nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult day care facilities that all need nursing assistants.

Quality HealthCare Training Center also provides its students with free training in CPR and first aid even though it is not required for state certification.

“We offer this free training because I want my graduates to stand out when they are searching for a job,” said Hakli.

In the future, Quality HealthCare Center plans to add other traning programs such as phlebotomy.

"Being in the health field for 35 years, this (training center) is what I've always wanted to do," said Hakli. "This is my niche. It's pretty nice waking up in the morning and love going to work."

The Center holds day, evening and weekend classes. For more information, please visit Quality HealthCare Center.