Jereka Thomas-Hockaday
Manchaca, TX (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
Central Texas Allied Health Institute
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Startup
Location:
Austin
Industry:
Non Profit
Year Founded:
2018
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Business Stage:
Growth (not profitable)
Entity Type:
Nonprofit Corporation
Description:
The Problem
In January 2017, the City of Austin published the Master Community Workforce Plan to bring 10,000 middle-skill jobs to economically disadvantage areas of the city by 2022. The report identified the Eastern and Southeastern areas as the most vulnerable and identified specific industries that should be targeted for economic development in these parts of the city. Healthcare was identified as one of these industries. The City Manager was directed to begin a process to identify stakeholders and incentive-based programs and financing mechanisms for public, private and non-profit entities to provide the economic opportunities reported in the report.
The Solution
Fifty-five in demand occupations were classified as “hard to fill” positions in the Austin Metropolitan Area. The following allied health professions were included in this list: Medical Secretaries, Medical Assistants, Pharmacy Technicians, Radiology Technicians and Surgical Technologists.
Currently, there is one, properly accredited, higher education institution that offers training in the areas of allied health education, Austin Community College. This institution alone is not able to provide enough graduates to maintain a productive healthcare workforce and this has created a significant employment gap for allied health professions in the city.
The solution is the Texas Workforce Commission granting Central Texas Allied Health Institute a licensure of operation as the second, properly accredited, higher education institution in Austin.
Institutional Goals
Central Texas Allied Health Institute will:
1. Provide individuals interested in allied health professions a second option in education.
2. Charge tuition prices comparable to that of a community college to keep student debt low.
3. Offer both flexible day, evening, and online classes to maximize student training opportunity.
4. Enter into an educational affiliation agreement with Huston Tillotson University to offer students an educational career pathway to receiving a bachelor's degree if they choose to further their education.
5. Execute workforce training affiliation agreements that have been initiated with local health care employers in the city.
Conclusion
To achieve the above five goals, Central Texas Allied Health Institute must receive a license to operate as a career college from the Texas Workforce Commission. Once of the requirements of approval is that the entity must show at least three months of working capital. For CTAHI, this number is a minimum of $250,000. To date, we have raised a total of $55,000 dollars.
We are seeking angel investors or philanthropic donations as we are a non-profit from like minded individuals who seek to help us reach our goal. We hope you will consider our cause worthy and agree to an amount of $ 50,000 or more.