What is the Jefferson Workforce Development Program?
The Jefferson Workforce Development Program is a collaboration between Jefferson Health, the School District of Philadelphia and Esperanza College.
“We have these high-need positions in our workforce, whether it be patient care technicians or medical assistants to help support the nursing care team,” said Theresa Fortner, associate chief nursing officer at Jefferson Health. “It’s an entry-level job and one that often has a high turnover, partly because these candidates then move on to different jobs within the organization. We have a constant need for these important roles.”
Smith-Bethea is one of 18 students to complete the program. More than half are employed at Jefferson. Others opted to pursue other opportunities.
“We wanted to figure out how we can get new-to-workforce candidates into these positions to fill our workforce needs, but also to help them secure good-paying jobs that Jefferson can provide for them,” Fortner said.
The average pay for the positions is about $25 an hour.
Typically, patient care technicians work in hospitals, while medical assistants tend to work at outpatient facilities. Both are trained to use various medical equipment for taking patient vitals and preparing patients for examinations, procedures and treatment, as well as scheduling and handling patient records and any patient-specialized diets.
Boosted by a rising life expectancy and advances in medical technology, health care is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. By next year, the industry projects a nationwide shortage of 3.2 million health care workers, including medical assistants, patient care technicians and surgery technicians, according to the American Hospital Association.
Jefferson Health System faces its own unique staffing challenges. Its 2024 merger with Lehigh Valley Health Network, which increased its number of hospitals to 32, along with 700 clinics and 65,000 employees, made the combined entity one of the nation’s top 15 nonprofit health systems. It was already one of the city’s top employers.
