Current Initiatives

Career Coaching

The Alliance pays one-quarter to one-half of the salaries of career coaches in grantee hospitals in an effort to improve retention and advancement of frontline workers in entry level skilled healthcare jobs.

• More than 400 entry level employees from five Baltimore hospitals are participating
• 72 percent have successfully completed some form of training
• 40 percent have advanced to new jobs
• Average wage progression between September 1, 2005 and May 31, 2007 was 13.5 percent

Career Mapping

An effort that diagrams career opportunities in Baltimore hospitals and outlines the education and experience needed for advancement or entry into particular healthcare occupations.

Three thousand healthcare career maps have been printed and distributed to hospitals, schools and community-based organizations

1st Span Training Program

Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson and Hitachi foundations, U.S. Department of Labor and the Mayor's Office of Employment Development, this program tests a work-based learning model for training unskilled hospital employees—first as nursing assistants and then as nurse extenders and advances an acute-care-based CNA curriculum for State of Maryland approval.

• 94 percent of the participants in the first cohort at Good Samaritan Hospital have successfully completed the nursing assistant training
• The second cohort is set to begin at University Specialty Hospital in October 2007

Pre-Allied Health Bridge Program

Trains incumbent employees and job seekers interested in the healthcare field, but who also need short-term remediation prior to entering into healthcare technical training or college-level work.

Two initial cohorts of participants completed the program at Sinai and Good Samaritan hospitals in spring 2008

Summer Internship Program (SIP)

Provides rising high school seniors a six-week, career-building workshop and paid work experience in a hospital setting. The initiative is designed to help allied health students focus their careers and plan a path to college or the work place.

• Some 60 students will participate in the new program beginning June 2008
• Hospitals in Baltimore strongly support the effort of improving the pipeline from high school to health care jobs
• Six local hospitals are participating—Good Samaritan Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bay View, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, Sinai Hospital and University of Maryland Medical Center

Summer Math-Builder

Aimed at improving math skills, test preparation and career development among rising high school juniors. The six-week course is for those enrolled in allied health curricula in Baltimore City Public Schools and who are also interested in post-secondary education.

• Some 13 students will participate beginning summer 2008
• Funded by the Abell and Baltimore Community foundations, BACH has partnered with Edmondson-Westside High School and Baltimore City Community College to deliver the custom-designed course

Surgical Technician Certification

A capacity building effort to help meet demands of local hospital surgery centers by better aligning public high school and community college surge tech curricula ultimately resulting in industry certification. Instruction will be available to incumbent hospital staff as a means of alleviating the immediate shortage of surgical technicians.

• Baltimore City Community College and the Community Colleges of Baltimore are preparing proposals for the program
• First cohort is expected fall 2008