ALBANY — One hundred percent of adults who completed the recent Personal Care Aide/Home Health Aide/Nurse Assistant program passed the certification exams, BOCES officials announced this week.
The students, who hailed from communities ranging from East Greenbush to Schoharie, Schenectady to Cohoes and Amsterdam, passed certifications to become New York State Personal Care Aides, Home Health Aides and/or Nurse Assistants during the class that concluded in late-August.
Some students took one exam, others two and still others took all three of the certifications.
“I am extremely proud of our adult learners and the work they did with our instructor, Linda Keifer, to not only become certified, but proficient in the skills they have learned,” said Paula Negri, Director, Health Careers and Services at Capital Region BOCES.
The students are as follows:
• Duavon Allen, of Schenectady, who passed the Nurse Assistant and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Milagos Fuentes, Amsterdam, who passed the Nurse Assistant and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Christopher James, Albany, who passed who passed the Nurse Assistant, Home Health Aide and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Beth Longale, who passed the Nurse Assistant, Home Health Aide and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Jadea McDermott, of Niskayuna, who passed the Nurse Assistant and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Maryuri Padilla, Cohoes, passed the Patient Care Assistant certification.
• Christopher Robinson, of East Greenbush, who passed Nurse Assistant, Home Health Aide and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Trinity Santoro, Schoharie, who passed Nurse Assistant, Home Health Aide and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
• Sarah Williams, of Troy, who passed the Home Health Aide and Patient Care Assistant certifications.
Most of the newly certified healthcare workers were looking to either advance their careers or enter the healthcare industry for the first time.
“I have been a painter and a cook most of my life and I just thought that I could do some good working as a nurse,” said Robinson.
For Santoro, the program and certifications allow her to work in healthcare while attending the registered nursing program at Russel Sage College.
“I wanted a job that is hands-on and in-line with what I am going to college for,” she said.
Students in the Personal Care Aide/Home Health Aide/Nurse Assistant program learn total patient care in both the classroom and through off campus, supervised clinical experiences.
For more information on the class, go to https://www.capitalregionboces.org/adult-education/classes-programs/pca-hha-na/.