About Us
The Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare is a healthcare workforce intermediary who provides training to underrepresented individuals who are interested in careers in healthcare, and to employers who are interested in hiring entry level employees and upskilling incumbent workers. BACH is a membership organization in the Baltimore metropolitan area creating pathways to economic independence for underserved communities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to address unemployment, underemployment, and healthcare workforce shortages in the Baltimore region by identifying healthcare career pathways and connecting residents to skilled jobs, leading to economic independence.
Our Vision
BACH envisions a healthy community, a strong economic future and an inclusive system that prepares and connects residents to skilled positions in healthcare organizations with workforce shortages in the Baltimore region
History
The Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) traces its founding to a conversation held on a train back in 2002. Karen Sitnick, then director of the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; Diane Bell-McKoy, then head of the Baltimore City Empowerment Zone; Pamela Paulk, then head of human resources for the Johns Hopkins Health System; and Patrice Cromwell, then program officer with Open Society Institute-Baltimore. While returning from a national forum workforce development, they discussed the challenges and opportunities within Baltimore’s workforce system.
All agreed that the city needed a systematic, employer-led approach to fill critical shortages at Baltimore-area hospitals. Meeting employers’ needs and creating new job and advancement opportunities for lower-skilled workers would require the collaboration of a range of public and private institutions.
“We literally stacked our hands together across the aisle and said we’re going to make this happen.”
Pamela Paulk, former head of Human Relations,
Johns Hopkins Health System
BACH Facts
Over 2,200 Participants Served
75% Enrollees Complete Training
73% of Program Completers Get Jobs
Average Wage at Hire is $18.19
86% of Participants are African-American
Majority of Participants Served Reside in Community Benefits Service Areas
97% of Training Completers Earn Industry-Recognized Credentials
83% of Participants are Female