WAILUKU – Hale Makua Health Services (HMHS) last week announced its new Nurse Aide Training Program, which aims to offset the cost of attending a state-approved training program and encourage more people to work at HMHS.

The program offers individuals the opportunity to become trained as a nurse aide and prepare to take the Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) test.

The nurse aide course consists of four weeks of classes, including 100 hours of course work, labs and clinicals, as required by the State of Hawaii. At the end of the course, students will be able to work as a nurse aide.

This course is offered at no cost with a one-year employment commitment to HMHS upon completion. Individuals interested in the course with no employment obligation are able to for a fee of $1,100, which covers course fees and books.

Classes will be held starting July 7 and run through July 31, meeting every Friday through Monday (four days per week) at Hale Makua Wailuku located at 1540 Lower Main St. All classes are mandatory in order to receive a certificate.

Before students begin, they must apply for a nurse aide position at Hale Makua and be offered conditional employment with the organization. A two-step TB screening and a criminal background check are also required. Applications can be found at www.halemakua.org/careers or by calling (808) 871-9263.

In addition to employment, HMHS offers employee benefits, including paid time off and medical, dental, vision, prescription and life insurance benefits. For full-time employees, Hale Makua Health Services covers 95 percent of an employee’s single medical premiums and 90 percent of family medical and dental benefits. The organization also provides a match to employees’ 401k retirement savings and offers generous tuition reimbursement benefits and scholarships.

HMHS has found that one of the major challenges for potential caregivers to enter the healthcare field is the upfront cost of paying tuition and fees at a nurse aide training school. HMHS would like to help alleviate those costs for individuals that the company thinks would be good additions to its team by covering the cost for the registration and tuition fees for nursing aide training.

In exchange for receiving training, individuals enrolled in the program would need to agree to work at HMHS for one year as a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA).

Hale Makua Health Services is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, established in 1946 to provide a home for elders who had no one to care for them or means to pay for care. It is the only Eden Alternative-registered home in the State of Hawaii and one of Maui’s largest non-government employers.

Over 450 employees serve two nursing homes; a home health care agency; a rehab center that specializes in both in and out-patient physical, occupational and speech therapies; an adult day health center; and an adult residential care home. For more information, visit HaleMakua.org.