Resource Library

Stephanie spent four years working as a traveling phlebotomist. Her mother provided childcare for Stephanie’s four children while she worked to provide for her family. When her mother became ill, Stephanie had to leave her job. Family illness and unemployment were not the first obstacles she encountered; she was also a domestic violence survivor. Stephanie visited her local One-Stop and saw a flyer for Project HOPE: Healthcare Occupations Preparation for Employment . She was interested in returning to school but had exhausted available financial aid during her Phlebotomy degree. Stephanie knew she had an open door in front of her and decided to walk through it. She called the number on the flyer and applied for Project HOPE assistance.

Health Careers NW (HCNW) provides healthcare training and job search assistance to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, and individuals covered under Medicaid through the Oregon Health Plan.

With the second round of Health Profession Opportunity Grants coming to a close, the GoodCare Career Pathways Program began looking for alternative training options. Facilitated by Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, GoodCare uses a three-part behavioral change model designed to integrate supportive, educational, and workplace services in healthcare training. GoodCare also provides the environment and encouragement needed to succeed in their three occupation healthcare tracks: nursing, health information, and healthcare support. Limited time and funding in the last year of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants does not allow for the usual training programs or approach to services in these tracks. Ever adaptable to participant needs, GoodCare set out to build a new training that fit.

Collaborative partnerships between Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) programs and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies build a foundation for empowerment and self-sufficiency through healthcare training and individualized support services.

Healthcare employers in Anchorage, AK, look beyond test scores when hiring entry-level employees. The demand for new hires with interpersonal and soft skills is on the rise. Employer partners of the Cook Inlet Tribal Council Health Profession Opportunity Grants (CITC HPOG) program in Alaska stated a clear need for entry-level employees to demonstrate such skills. Initiative and a strong work ethic are highly sought-after traits, yet they are often hard to find in the incoming local healthcare workforce.

The HPOG program recently published a paper on implementing apprenticeship programs.

The HPOG program serves participants who are diverse in age, gender, native language, cultural background, and geographic location. Their challenges include few employment opportunities, financial stress, personal medical issues, and caring for dependent family members. Despite these challenges, with HPOG assistance, all of these individuals have taken the first steps on their chosen career paths in occupations such as nursing, health information, and laboratory technology. The healthcare field is enriched by the resilience and determination these new employees bring from their own experience.

Rohina Behrmann, Full Employment Council, presented "From HPOG to Hired: Creating Employers who Become Stakeholders and Partners" at the 2013 Annual Grantee Meeting. For more information about Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG), please visit the HPOG website.

This video highlights Kelly's journey through the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program. Kelly talks about the struggles she has overcome, and what inspired her to make it to graduation.

To learn more about the HPOG program, its grantees and its participants, please visit the HPOG website.

The 2015 Compendium of Success Stories captures inspiring journeys of program participants and showcases the transformations they experienced through HPOG. Grantees identified stories, with full consent from each individual participant to share her or his name and story. These accounts provide a small glimpse of the effect HPOG has had on its participants and bring to life the data collected about the HPOG program.