Alternative Health Care Classes Offered at Hagerstown Community College

Hagerstown Community College will implement new alternative health care education programs this school year to address employment gaps and increase dual enrollment courses in high school.

Starting in August, eligible high school students can take electronic health records courses at South Hagerstown High School, and certified nursing assistant courses are being offered at Smithsburg and Boonsboro high schools, introduced last school year. Through these courses, students can earn health care certifications before graduation or pursue higher education.

These courses were implemented through a partnership with Washington County Public Schools and the middle school. As part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the district funds interested students to take classes at their high school’s middle school.

Jim Klauber, president of HCC, said the Washington County public school system is currently the largest payer of tuition for the university. In addition to the increase in dual-enrollment classes under Maryland’s blueprint, Klauber said these programs will fill a gap in the field.

“I think what drove my calculation is the first factor: The demand is huge,” Klauber said.

Klauber said health care organizations across the state are experiencing shortages of certain health care professionals, particularly nurses.

To address the physician shortage, Meritus Health is building a new medical school, the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. And Klauber said that with the medical school, the institution is working to provide staff, including nurses, for the doctors who will be graduating from medical school.

“Before COVID-19 and for a very long time, there were waiting lists to get into the nursing program,” Klauber said. “During COVID-19, this has changed dramatically. »

After the pandemic, for the first time since Klauber was at HCC, enrollment fell below the cap of 56 students and there was no longer a waiting list.

To address the shortage of nursing students, the college implemented a weekend and night nursing program to attract students who do not have time for a typical school schedule.

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Expansion of dual registration

Dual enrollment healthcare programs were established both to allow students to pursue a career while still in high school, and to encourage students to enter the healthcare field.

“I think it helps these high school students get a taste of medical professionals now,” Klauber said, referring to those classes.

Labs were built at the high schools with funds from the Washington County Public School System, and Klauber said the college provides the instructors for the classes.

Students who take the electronic health records courses will complete the electronic health records certification pathway to receive their certification upon completion of the dual enrollment program, said Tanda Emanuel, health information management program manager at the college.

Emanuel said this certification would make students eligible for dozens of different jobs, or an advanced degree in the future.

“Most importantly, the program will be two years long and when they finish, even while they are in the program, they will be able to apply for different jobs in the health care field,” Emanuel said, referring to the two years of dual enrollment courses students can take while still in high school.

This program also helps students gain exposure to the health care field. Emanuel said students can decide to pursue nursing or health care, but the program is designed to introduce students and help them get started on a career path.

Students in these courses will learn how to use technology currently used in the field for record keeping in hospitals and doctors’ offices.

Klauber said the certified nursing program, which began last year as a dual enrollment program, was also implemented in part due to demand.

“I go to these employers all the time and they always say, ‘We need more caregivers, we need more caregivers,’” Klauber said. “They need it badly.”

Klauber said classes are taught to students during their first year, and then they can take their certification exam. Then students could participate in a junior apprenticeship during their final year.

Although the certified nursing assistant program was not full, Klauber said the students who were in it were successful. That will continue next year.

Students who wish to pursue a dual enrollment degree should contact their advisor or school administrator.

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Alternative Nursing Program

The college planned to implement a night and weekend nursing program for students whose obligations prevented them from taking typical nursing program courses starting in January 2025. However, the program did not not received the necessary applications and was therefore postponed to January 2026.

“We started thinking about this idea of night and weekend nursing,” Klauber said. “There’s a lot going on in nursing, which is a very, very intense degree.”

Klauber and Karen Hammond, the college’s director of nursing, decided to continue the alternative program to encourage people with busy lives to pursue a nursing degree.

Although they didn’t have the number of applicants needed to launch the program in January, Klauber said they’ve had a lot of interest. But many interested students must meet prerequisites before they’re eligible for the program. The college hopes that by 2026, students will have met the necessary prerequisites and the program will have enough students.