Moraine Valley Community College has expanded its Basic Nurse Assistant (BNA) Program to its Southwest Education Center (SWEC), 17900 S. 94th Ave., Tinley Park, creating more opportunities for students to pursue health care careers close to home.
While SWEC already offers a range of resources for students in Tinley Park and the surrounding neighborhoods, adding the facilities for the BNA Program addresses the increasing need for trained health care professionals in the community.
In 2018, the college expanded the program to its Education Center at Blue Island. Dr. Kelli Harris, dean of Nursing, recalled how the Blue Island expansion impacted the program, “It allowed us to offer more classes and even, sometimes, in a nontraditional format. We feel people in the community want to get those certificates quickly and be able to join the workforce, which is what we’re here to do.”
Carol Smurawski, faculty in the BNA Program, is one of the first instructors to teach in the expanded facilities at SWEC this semester. After instructing at the college for nearly 18 years, she recommends anyone who is thinking about pursuing a career in the medical field start with BNA, “It’s the basics – X-ray, learning how to properly do safe patient care—of any medical field you are thinking of. This is the perfect way to just take one semester and decide: is the medical profession for you?”
The program facilities at the college’s main campus in Palos Hills are the same at the extension centers in Blue Island and Tinley Park. Students wishing to enroll in Moraine Valley’s Nursing Program first must complete the BNA Program.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of nursing assistants and orderlies is projected to grow 4% from 2023 to 2033, and the demand for registered nurses is projected to grow 6% during the same period. The demand for each is projected to increase even more as Baby Boomers age.
“We need nurses,” Smurawski shared. “We are so short of nurses’ aides. You’re going to be guaranteed a job with only one semester of education.”
Harris shared, “If you have an interest in helping people, this is a great start. We’ll teach you everything along the way.”
The inaugural BNA cohorts to study at SWEC reached capacity early in the fall, and demand continues to grow.
For news media inquiries, contact Madisson Younglove, Moraine Valley assistant director of Communications, at (708) 974-5281 or younglovem2@morainevalley.edu.
