WEBSTER – More than three dozen graduating seniors from Clear Creek ISD schools have signed on to work with HCA Houston Healthcare as part of a new partnership.
“Most of them will be nurse techs, so that’s our entry-level into the nursing workforce and so they will be right there partnered with the nurses, caring for our patients,” said Kelli Nations, division chief nurse executive.
A signing event was held on Wednesday evening.
Nations said the StarTech program includes five weeks of training. She hopes the partnership with the school district will help develop future nurses.
“They can come and work with us full-time and take advantage of our tuition reimbursement and stay with us for a lifetime we hope,” said Nations.
Erin Dang said she recently graduated from Clear Falls High School and is going to work as a patient care technician at HCA’s Clear Lake location.
“It gives us an opportunity to step foot into the medical field and just explore opportunities and see what we like and what we don’t like,” Dang said.
The school district called the partnership a win-win. Clear Creek said the district can better prepare students to meet the demands of the workforce.
“Then the benefit to the industry, or to HCA Healthcare, is that they’re getting students that have already begun education and training in the health field,” said Dana Morgan, CCISD career and technical education director.
At the moment, HCA Houston said the partnership is only with CCISD.
Morgan said 37 students signed on to the program this year and the district hopes to double that number next year.