The next time someone draws your blood, it may just be the technician is someone who had issues in the New Jersey court system — and who has had a significant change in fortune for the better.
That’s because Hudson County Community College President Christopher Reber and New Jersey Reentry Corporation Founder and Chairman and former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey have established of a phlebotomy technician certification program leading to industry recognized credentials from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), the pair announced Jan. 11 at a new conference.
The program is designed solely for court-involved individuals.
McGreevey and Reber were joined at the event by state and HCCC officials and NJRC participants.
Reber said the training program is funded by NJ HealthWorks, a program sponsored by the United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, and administered by the New Jersey Community College Health Profession Consortium Partners.
The first program class of about a dozen students begin training Jan. 23, 2023.
Classes will be conducted by HCCC faculty at the Reentry Training and Employment Center in Kearny.
“We are proud to partner with Gov. McGreevey and NJRC in developing and providing this phlebotomy training program,” Reber said. “This is a life-changing opportunity, exclusively for court-involved women and men, that offers a pathway to well-paying, in-demand careers. This program also addresses a critical national need for professionals in this sector of health care.”
McGreevey had similar sentiments
“This phlebotomy training for court-involved persons to become a certified phlebotomy technician is a landmark course. This is the first New Jersey phlebotomy training program solely focused on the court-involved population. This three-month training program will require significant academic and substantial clinical training hours resulting in a professional phlebotomy career. The successful completion of the training will provide for national certification through the National Healthcareer Association.
“We are honored to partner with HCCC in our shared advocacy mission and commitment to second chances. We celebrate the importance of this phlebotomy training course, which continues to highlight the need for ‘industry-recognized credentials’ through job training for the reentry population.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that phlebotomy — the science of drawing blood intravenously — is one of the fastest-growing career sectors in the country with a projection of 21,500 openings each year over the next decade.
The 2021 median pay for phlebotomists is $37,380 per year.
In addition to this program, Hudson County Community College and New Jersey Reentry Corporation work in partnership to provide career pathway certification training and credit-bearing learning opportunities for court-involved individuals in welding, advanced manufacturing and the culinary arts.
In November 2022, the two organizations celebrated the first cohorts of NJRC graduates of the HCCC welding and culinary arts programs.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.