PINELLAS PARK, Fla. /Florida Newswire/ — Premier Nursing Academy, an institution offering free, state-approved training to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA), has launched its second Florida location in Bradenton. The new Bradenton location is expected to train as many as 500 students in 2021 from the broader Bradenton and Sarasota metro area.
This new campus makes Premier Nursing Academy’s innovative no-cost training model available to more students and progressive healthcare employers. Premier Nursing Academy works with area employers who sponsor training and commit to employing candidates who complete Premier Nursing Academy’s Florida Board of Nursing-approved CNA program. Attendees of Premier Nursing Academy do not pay any tuition or fees and are also guaranteed a CNA job upon graduation with one of many Bradenton-area employers sponsoring classroom seats.
Premier Nursing Academy’s new campus location is 5720 14th St. W, Bradenton, Fla. 34207, in the Southwood Shoppes Shopping Mall. The first class at this location started on November 30, and additional classes are seated on a rolling basis thereafter. Both day and evening class schedules for 4-week and 6-week programs, respectively, are open for approved and sponsored candidates.
Interested applicants may view upcoming classes and apply on the Premier Nursing Academy website: https://www.premiernursingacademy.org/locations/florida/bradenton
“Employers we surveyed overwhelmingly confirmed their need for qualified CNAs in Bradenton and surrounding areas, including Sarasota, Sun City, and Palmetto,” says Matt Killday, Chief Operating Officer. “Local healthcare facilities could collectively employ 1,000 or more CNAs in 2021 if they had enough qualified personnel available for them to hire. What we’re doing at Premier Nursing Academy is working with employers to identify promising talent and provide them training for free, to get more people certified and into these skilled local jobs that might otherwise go unfilled.”
Premier Nursing Academy’s training program combines classroom instruction at one of its campus locations with onsite clinical instruction conducted at a participating employer-partner facility. Stringent COVID-19 protocols are in place at all training facilities for the health and safety of Premier Nursing Academy trainees, staff, employers, and patients.
“CNAs play a crucial role on the frontlines of patient care. We’re doubling our capacity in Florida to train entry-level health professionals at a critical time,” says Killday. “Our graduates-whether they continue to be CNAs or decide to go into more advanced nursing-are in a high-demand field and are making a difference.”
Premier Nursing Academy was started with the goal of creating an training-to-employment pipeline and has graduated close to 1,000 CNAs since its inception in 2017. Founders Chris Palevich, President of Premier Nursing Academy, and his father Rob Palevich recognized a shortage of qualified CNAs in their area and set out to create a solution that could benefit both employers and prospective healthcare workers looking for a streamlined, debt-free pathway into the healthcare profession.
About Premier Nursing Academy
Premier Nursing Academy is a contract training provider serving aspiring healthcare professionals. Founded in 2017, Premier Nursing Academy offers an innovative no-cost training program in which trainees are sponsored by an employer and work for the employer after completion of their program. Premier Nursing Academy engages with employer partners by assisting them in recruiting and training new employees for entry-level healthcare positions or offering training to their existing workforce.
Premier Nursing Academy currently focuses on training certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in 4- to 6-week programs that prepare graduates to pass their CNA exam. Premier Nursing Academy operates training centers in Pinellas Park (Tampa metro area) and Bradenton (Sarasota metro area). Premier Nursing Academy is licensed by the Florida Board of Nursing to provide CNA training.
For more information visit https://www.premiernursingacademy.org/
