Financial Support Helps Effort to Train and Employ Nursing Assistants
(Wheeler, OR) – The Oregon Community Foundation’s (OCF) “Better Nursing Home Care Grant Fund” has awarded the north coast region’s only skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility a second grant to support the Nehalem Valley Care Center’s efforts to train and employ Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs).
The Nehalem Valley Care Center in Wheeler regularly sponsors educational programs that prepare graduates to work as Certified Nurse Assistants who perform essential health care duties for patients. The OFC grant in the amount of $19,600 is on top of a similar $15,000 grant awarded in 2023. The grant helps defray the cost of paying CNA trainees while they participate in classes and gain practical experience at the Care Center.
“We are deeply appreciative of this continued funding which has been essential to meeting the care needs of our patients and providing employment opportunities in the community,” said Erica Knepper, RN, of Canyon Wren Consulting who provides nurse training and consulting services to the Care Center.
Nehalem Valley Care Center employs approximately 45 staff members, half in the nursing department. Certified Nursing Assistants are among the most difficult position to recruit and therefore an in-house training program allows the Care Center to help local talent pursue a career in healthcare.
The Care Center, owned by the Nehalem Bay Health District, is our region’s only skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, in fact the only facility of its kind between Astoria and Newport on the Oregon coast. The facility is managed by Canyon Wren Consulting, an Oregon nursing home management company.
The Care Center provides 24-hour Skilled/Long Term Care nursing care for residents and offers Physical/Occupational/Speech therapy services as well and is licensed by the state of Oregon. The Care Center is one of Tillamook County’s largest employers with staff that includes Registered Nurses (RN’s), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN’s), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA’s), food service, maintenance, administrative and business office personnel.
For information on the Care Center’s CNA training program contact Lynnelee Baertlein at lbaertlein@nvcarecenter.org or call #503-436-3450.
For more information on the Nehalem Valley Care Center and the services it provides visit: https://nehalemcarecenter.com
