Health
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CalGrows is now open for registration with hundreds of courses available to caregivers working with older adults and adults with disabilities, helping support Californians on a path to a career in health care and ensuring the state retains highly-qualified health care workers.
“Investing in and growing our health care workforce is critical to the health and safety of Californians,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “As the entire United States faces a health care worker shortage, the CalGrows initiative is yet another tool California is using to ensure our health care workforce remains strong by providing opportunities to those already caring for loved ones.”
CalGrows is grounded in the recognition that direct care jobs can be a gateway into a variety of personal and professional advancement opportunities.
The innovative program brings together dozens of training providers offering hundreds of virtual and in-person courses for caregivers across California.
Courses cover a range of topics, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, cultural diversity, food safety, infection control, provider, and consumer communication and more, with courses available in multiple languages.
“CalGrows training courses empower caregivers across California to learn valuable skills to improve the lives of those in their care and help further their careers,” said Susan DeMarois, director of the California Department of Aging. “As California’s population ages, we’ll need hundreds of thousands more direct care workers. The CalGrows program is an important milestone toward ensuring the state has the home care aides, care managers, dementia care specialists, activities coordinators, and other important roles necessary to support our aging population.”
“Care workers are more likely to be women and people of color, who are also at a higher risk for age-related illnesses,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency. “CalGrows demonstrates the State’s commitment to support caregivers, as well as those they care for, by providing training in six languages at launch, with more added soon, as well as career growth opportunities. This program is essential to help California achieve our goals in the Master Plan for Aging: to build a California for all ages and abilities.”
CalGrows can help build individual skill sets, job satisfaction, and growth opportunities to help further careers and the retention of skilled, experienced caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities.
Qualified applicants can also receive up to $6,000 in financial incentives.
Free training for paid direct care workers, home and community-based services caregivers, and unpaid family and friend caregivers is available through the CalGrows website at www.calgrows.org.
Most courses are available online, with others offered in person and are searchable by topic, location, language, and incentive.
Caregivers in the paid direct care workforce are also eligible for financial incentives and career pathway development benefits.
Through the CalGrows Innovation Fund grants launched earlier this year, $89 million was awarded to 78 organizations across California.
Grants were awarded to diverse organizations with innovative ideas to offer training and incentives for the direct care Home and Community-Based Services workforce and unpaid family and friend caregivers.
For self-directed care workers through In Home Supportive Services, optional training and compensations for training time are available through IHSS Career Pathways.
The Workforce for a Healthy California Initiative is part of the state’s broader strategy to build a health workforce that represents California’s diverse communities and provides people with the quality care they deserve, while addressing the growing workforce shortages throughout the state’s health and human services system.
The cornerstone of the Initiative comes from a once-in-a-generation, $1 billion plus investment from the 2022-23 state budget.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
This collaboration will further the college's goals of growing its nursing program and help meet the rising need for highly qualified healthcare professionals in these areas.
“Partnering with nursing schools is the best way for hospitals to ensure there is a pipeline for recruitment of nurses,” said PUC Department of Nursing Chair Kimberly Dunker. “Because of the long-standing history between our Adventist organizations, we are able to not only partner but share the same values and beliefs for nursing education and talent acquisition.”
The Associate of Science in Nursing, or ASN, program will be open to Adventist Health employees and community members in the local areas of Lake and Mendocino counties looking to move into the nursing field. Classes will begin in September.
Judson Howe, president of the North Coast Network for Adventist Health, said creating a local nursing workforce is one of the organization’s top priorities.
“The nursing program at Pacific Union College creates an additional avenue for our community members to receive a world-class registered nursing education,” Howe said. “Adventist Health North Coast Network will continue to support the excellent nursing programs across our counties, including Mendocino College and looks forward to expanding professional pathways for premier clinical education, allowing local rural healthcare to thrive.”
The California Board of Registered Nurses, or BRN, and the Education Licensing Committee, or ELC, approved the addition of 18 students to the Angwin campus with clinical partners in rural areas like Mendocino and Lake counties.
This hard-won achievement is the result of a two-year collaborative effort by PUC and Adventist Health to establish new nursing education centers in underserved areas. California will need the most nurses in the nation by 2030.
Still, nursing programs in the state typically find it challenging to receive permission to admit more students due to limited clinical space in hospitals. Sometimes, qualified students may wait up to three years for admission to nursing programs.
PUC has a sterling reputation as a well-established, high-quality nursing program — lauded by the state nursing board in its evaluation last spring. The program also boasts excellent NCLEX outcomes. Nursing professors from PUC’s Angwin campus will lead the program’s instruction. The program will also utilize the Adventist Health training facilities in the Adventist Health North Coast Network for most of the skills lab instruction. Sites in these counties include Clear Lake, Ukiah Valley, Howard Memorial (Willits), and Mendocino Coast (Fort Bragg).
PUC Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing & Communication Gene Edelbach also said the partnership has been rewarding. “It's been exciting to partner with Adventist Health over the last few years in developing new educational products that truly meet the needs of our underserved communities,” Edelbach said.
Jill Bartolomie, Patient Care Executive for Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, said this collaboration will be meaningful to both Adventist Health employees and students from the local community.
“The program will allow them to fulfill their dreams faster and get to working as an RN without continually delaying their education,” she said. “It allows them to work full time and continue to support themselves and their family while they are in school because this is a flexible, hybrid program.”
Prospective students for this program must meet the admission criteria outlined by the college and the nursing program. The criteria include completion of specific courses, GPA, and testing requirements. More information can be found on the website, puc.edu/nursing-requirements. Students will be expected to meet the criteria to ensure their access and completion of the program.
With the new program, there is a clear path from becoming a Medical Assistant (MA) to receiving a Master of Science in Nursing. For example, students can achieve their MA through programs offered at AH locations, their ASN at the Adventist Health sites in Lake and Mendocino counties and earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing through PUC’s online programs. This opportunity provides students with a robust educational experience while remaining close to their families and local communities.
Preferred pricing for Adventist Health employees will make the overall cost much less than a PUC on-campus program. Additionally, the admissions process will be individualized, with a dedicated personal advisor for each student.
In 2021, PUC embarked on a vision for the future, focusing on four main pillars—including the addition of online programs and education centers. The Angwin campus is the heart of PUC, while the vision plan states that education centers are the “arms and the legs that put us in motion in communities where we are most needed.”
To learn more about this new ASN program opportunity or apply, please visit https://www.puc.edu/adventist-health.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
E Center WIC believes that good nutrition is the foundation for good health and strives to provide families with the inspiration and skills needed to succeed at being healthy, active, and creating positive habits.
WIC offers nutrition education and counseling, provides nutritious foods, and makes referrals to healthcare and other community resources as needed.
“Throughout the process of becoming an approved Blue Zones Worksite we have found opportunities to focus efforts inward to our staff,” says Kim Schott, program director. “We recognize that in order to invest in others, we must invest in ourselves. By implementing small changes on a daily basis, we are noticing improved morale. We know this can only lead to improved service to our community.”
To become Blue Zones Project Approved, the organization worked with the local Blue Zones Project team to identify best practices for health and well-being they were already implementing.
Additionally, they identified new practices to embrace, such as mapping two different walking routes for staff to utilize during work breaks, creating a health brand to support staff and clients, and forming a Well Being Committee to discuss Blue Zones Project progress at each staff meeting.
On March 29, the local Blue Zones Project team and Nick Buettner, vice president of community engagement for Blue Zones, celebrated the approval process with the E Center WIC team.
“E Center WIC is a true community leader. They’ve built off the good work they are already doing for our community to ensure that they make healthy choices easier and more accessible for their staff, too. As the first approved Blue Zones Project – Lake County Worksite, they are leading the way for our county to become a fully certified Blue Zones Project in July 2026,” said Blue Zones Project – Lake County Executive Director Jamey Gill.
Brought to Lake County through an innovative sponsorship by Adventist Health and Blue Zones, LLC, Blue Zones Project is a community-by-community well-being improvement initiative designed to enable community members to live longer, happier lives with lower rates of chronic diseases and a higher quality of life.
To learn more about becoming a Blue Zones Project Approved™ restaurant, organization, or worksite, contact the Blue Zones Project team in Lake County at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The group will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St.
As we age, we may need to adjust to changes in our eyesight.
Vision Rehabilitation Educator Patricia Jefferson of the Earle Baum Center of the Blind will give group members tools to help with these changes.
Attendees will have a chance to share their concerns.
This event is funded through a Lake County Behavioral Health MHSA Mini Grant Program.
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