By BOBBIE GREEN
The Progress
The College of Southern Nevada/Mesquite center graduated its first ever, trailblazing class of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) on Thursday, May 27. The event was coordinated by CSN Site Coordinator Darlene Montague in a special presentation held at noon at the CSN Mesquite Lab.
Because of COVID restrictions, the class size was limited for the program. There were three graduating students including Melissa Chaney, Valerie Masongsong, and Alisha Rhodes. Both city and health care community leaders were present to congratulate the graduates.
The two-month program included online lecture courses, on campus lab course and a hands-on clinical course at Highland Manor facility in Mesquite.
Two of the graduates had their tuitions provided by Highland Manor using the Nursing assistant apprenticeship program. They will continue to work at Highland Manor at a better rate of pay after graduating. The third student will be working in Las Vegas.
This skilled training program course through CSN is made possible in association with Government Office of Workforce Innovation (OWINN), Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and the City of Mesquite. CSN aims to create a skilled worker program throughout the southern Nevada region.
The Mesquite CSN campus has a lab set up specifically for healthcare workers to be educated. The lab sports three beds in a hospital-like setting. Each bed contains a simulation patients which is anatomically correct. Thing are so realistic that there are even charts on the wall and curtains between the beds.
Two of the RN nurse instructors work at Highland Manor including Amy Hemley and Kip Ferris. The graduates talked highly of their instructors.
“I would not change anything in the program,” graduate Melissa Cheney said. “It was great just how it is.”
Mesquite mayor Al Litman reminded those assembled that Nurse/instructor Hemley was one of his first students at CSN eleven years ago.
“I encouraged my students to go into the healthcare field,” Litman said. “They would always have a choice of where they wanted to live and work.”
Highland Manor administrator Tony Martin who was in attendance at the ceremony, talked about the qualifications required of workers in the healthcare industry.
“We need programs like this,” Martin said. “We need to give the younger generation a reason to stay here in our valley.”
Carissa Koda, Vice President Provost of CSN came to congratulate the first graduating CNA class. Koda said that the goal of CSN in Mesquite is to fill the educational needs of the community.
College of Southern Nevada is located at 140 N Yucca St, Mesquite. Go online to www.csn.edu/mesquite. For more information about this and other programs call 702-346-2485.
