New Career: Maui Paid Nurse Aide Training Program

As part of its “grow your own” initiative, Maui Health system today announced a new paid nurse aide training program open to anyone with a high school diploma or GED certificate. The training will take place at Kula Hospital over six weeks on Saturdays and Sundays and starts with employee orientation on June 3, 2019. Accepted students will be paid for the duration of the program and after successful completion, they will be offered full-time employment at Kula Hospital as a Certified Nurse Aide.

Kula aerial. PC: Maui Health System.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer this to our community, and essentially anyone interested in a career in health care, whether they’re already in the industry or want a career change,” said Kerry Pitcher, Sr. Director of Long-Term Care and Critical Access at Kula Hospital and Lānaʻi Community Hospital. “If you have a passion for serving and caring for others and want to make a difference in many lives, we encourage you to apply.”

Applicants must have graduated high school or earned a GED. Other program requirements include excellent oral and written communication, interpersonal relations and customer service, as well as a demonstrated ability to provide culturally-sensitive and age-appropriate care. Applicants must also be at least 18 years old.

Additional details can be found at www.mauihealthsystem.org/careers. Interested applicants should click and view “positions within Maui Health System” and search for job number 788621.

Since its inception in July 2017, Maui Health System has hired over 100 students from University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Nursing Program.

“Recruiting and training Maui residents and those from within our own schools is a top priority for us,” said Maui Health System CEO, Michael Rembis. “Collaborating with the University of Hawaii system to help educate, train, and then recruit these students into full-time employment after graduation is not only the most sustainable model for us, but it is also in the absolute best interest of our patients. Because nothing compares to the quality of care and compassion you receive from a friend or neighbor caring for you in our hospitals- and that is how we treat all of our patients – like ‘ohana.”

Kula Hospital is a critical access hospital and emergency room serving the growing Upcountry Maui population. The Kula Hospital Emergency Department is staffed with a physician 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is equipped to provide care and services for non-life-threatening emergencies including x-ray and laboratory, splinting, suturing, and wound care, as well as the administering of IV fluids and medications.

Hospital administrators say that on most weekdays, patients can be seen immediately, with little to no wait, making it a more convenient ER option for Upcountry residents. Kula Hospital’s Hale Makamae provides compassionate long-term care to about 85 residents, most who have lived there for more than 5 years. Daily care includes occupational and recreational therapy, nutritional services, activities and excursions.