The Quincy Sun // Published June 20, 2019 // By Quincy Sun

QUINCY — On June 10th, the eight Quincy College Home Health Aide (HHA) Non-Credit Certificate Program students from Quincy College had a lot to celebrate: completing their Home Health Aide education in 7 weeks, many with a job offer in hand.

“Although we offer many different workforce development training programs at Quincy College, the Home Health Aide program is one of the most competitive programs because it offers students the opportunity to continue grow professionally in an area of great demand like the home health aide, healthcare industry. Furthermore, this program also provide a path to continuing college education into Nursing or Health and Science programs, for many students. The seamless collaboration among community partners City of Quincy, and Best of Care Inc. played a crucial role in helping Quincy College students gain not only academic and job readiness skills, but a pathway to employment in the healthcare field,” Kate Lopci, Associate Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Engagement

The seven week, 160 class hour Quincy College Home Health Aide Non-Credit Certificate program is a collaborative effort between Quincy College, VPXL.net, Best of Care Inc, and the City of Quincy funded under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the City of Quincy. The eight students who completed the program are the fifth cohort of students to graduate from the HHA program from Quincy College. The graduates range in age from 22 years old to 58 years old and represent 5 countries: USA, Brazil, Haiti, Cameroon, and Puerto Rico.

Nakeya Bogarty of North Quincy
Paula Fonseca of Brighton
Cheryl Ford of Holbrook
Jennifer L. Labrie of Plymouth
Yvette Malla of Dorchester
Donna L. McLeod of Quincy
Milca E. Navarro of W. Roxbury
Herbitch (Herb) Touzin of Quincy

In attendance at the June 10th Graduation Ceremony held at Quincy College’s Quincy Campus were representatives from the City of Quincy, Best of Care Inc, and Quincy College. Quincy College President Michael G. Bellotti along with Kate Lopci, Associate Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Engagement delivered greetings to the graduates and their families.

Quincy College Faculty and Instructor of the HHA Program, Samantha Landers, RN, BSN, spoke and awarded certificates of completion to program participants. Landers is an alumna of the Quincy College Nursing Program, Class of 2009.

Nakeya Bogarty, Cheryl Ford, Yvette Malla, and Herbitch (Herb) Touzin provided diverse student reflections as parents, students, and healthcare professionals to fellow classmates to conclude the ceremony.

” Obstacles are a part of life. How you move over them, how you move past them develops strength. I have proven to myself I can do it. I did it. I can set goals large and small to show my daughter what success can look like. This program provided me with all the resources and support to be successful. These last few week have been both fun and fundamental,” Nakeya Bogarty of North Quincy stated.

Yvetta Malla, originally from Cameroon, now lives in Dorchester addressed her fellow graduates during the June 10th Home Health Aide Graduation Ceremony at Quincy College.

Upon successful completion of the Quincy College Home Health Aide program, graduates will be offered a path to employment through Best of Care, Inc.; prior to the June 10th graduation ceremony, seven of the eight graduates have had interviews with Best of Care Inc.

The Quincy College Home Health Aide program is 160 class hours on the Quincy Campus of Quincy College. In collaboration with Best of Care Inc., Quincy College was able to provide supervised practical training in a patient care setting.

Kevin Smith, CEO of Best of Care, Inc welcomed graduates to the Home Health Aide Profession:
” This program does not exist anywhere else. Quincy College continues to be among the most forward thinking institutions in the City of Quincy. I cannot overemphasize the importance of creating meaningful home care employment opportunities – especially as our industry is facing a workforce crisis. Kudos to the city for their participation in this training program and their acknowledgment of the critical role that home health aides play in keeping city residents safe, healthy and independent at home. Congratulations to the graduates and welcome to the profession.”

To learn more about Quincy College’s Workforce Development and Non-credit programs, visit: https://quincycollege.edu/workforce-development/.