Germanna Dean of Nursing completes mental health first aid training program

Germanna Dean of Nursing Mary Gilkey has graduated from a Mental Health First Aid trainer program offered in Boston. She is now certified to teach Mental Health First Aid.
According to mentalhealthfirstaid.org:
Mental Health First Aid is a groundbreaking public education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
It's offered as an interactive 12-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments.
Upon class completion, participants are certified as Mental Health First Aiders. The claas provides skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care.
The course can benefit a variety of audiences and key professions, including: primary care professionals, employers and business leaders, faith communities, school personnel and educators, state police and corrections officers, nursing home staff, mental health authorities, state policymakers, volunteers, young people, families and the general public.

Rep. Wittman hears concerns about jobs, health care reform at Germanna Community College small business roundtable

GCC President David A. Sam welcomes Rep. Rob Wittman to Germanna for a talk today with small business owners ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"When I see the talent out there that cannot find a job, it scares me to death," Laurie Newman of Taskforce told Rep. Rob Wittman (R-1st Va) today during a small business roundtable discussion with area business leaders and regional chamber of commerce members at Germanna Community College. "We have to [create] jobs, we have to have places to put them. There's no end in sight. They just keep coming and coming."

The regional roundtable, hosted by GCC's Center for Workforce, was a forum intended to allow the congressman to hear directly from employers on what steps government can take to incentivize real growth. Small businesses account for 70 percent of the new jobs created each year, and Wittman said he is committed to ensuring they have the tools they need.

Others at the meeting told Wittman that small, "main street" banks are ready and willing to make loans to small businesses, but are finding their hands tied by red tape.

On the topic of health care reform, Wittman said he wants to end the perception of the GOP as "the party of no." He said the Democrats are expected to try to pass a reconciliation of its House and Senate health care bills on Feb. 21, four days before a summit is to be held at the White House during which President Obama has promised to open the floor to all ideas. When someone asked if the Republicans would show up for that meeting, Wittman said he hoped so.

"I think we have an obligation to put forth our ideas," he said. He said the Republicans should attend the meeting to offer proposals for tort reform and allowing cosumers to buy health insurance from companies competing across state lines.

"We are hopeful the meeting on the 25th is still open to ideas," he said.

Germanna's Certified Nurse Aid program 'a wonderful way to start and build the basics and go from there'

GCC Certified Nurse Aid program helps students into entry level health care jobs in a matter of weeks ...


Germanna Community College's Dr. Zoila Ortega, RN, talks about the college's rapidly growing CNA program, which provides an inexpensive and fast track to a health care career. Click here for video.

Pharmacy Tech certification program can quickly prepare you to land a job in a field that's hiring

Need a job in a hurry? Try GCC's Pharm Tech program ...



As health care needs grow with the aging of the Baby Boomers, drug stores across the country need people to fill Pharmacy Tech openings. Germanna still has seats open for the Fall in its Pharmacy Tech certification program/ It's a quick path to a job in a field that's hiring. For more information, go to the GCC Pharm Tech page, call 540/891-3000 or email John Stroffolino at jstroffolino@germanna.edu

Hunting meaty jobs in lean times

At 11 a.m. Thursday, March 19, Free Lance-Star Business Columnist Bill Freehling talks at Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus about the chilly jobs climate ...


The jobless rate in the Fredericksburg area rose to 6.2 percent in January, its highest level for that month since 1993.

Bill Freehling, Business Columnist for The Free Lance-Star, will talk about what the jobs picture looks like in the area at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 19 in room 212 of the Dickinson Building at Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus.