Nursing Training Program Opens In Peekskill
Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster joined forces with Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce officials and local businessman Eric Giaquinto Wednesday to inaugurate one of the city’s newest businesses: Hudson Valley Career Training, a five-week certified nursing assistant course.
Giaquinto has run a sister training program in Newburgh for about four years, but the eight students at the Peekskill location kicked off just last week. The center offers a five-week program, with four weeks spent in the classroom and a final week spent learning practical skills.
Classes are offered during the day, in the evenings and on weekends.
“It’s hands-on,” Giaquinto said. “It will open the door for opportunities for employment and job security, as it’s in the medical field.”
Foster said she’s glad that the program, which boasts a 98 percent pass rate at its Newburgh location and an 85 percent job placement rate, gives “real incentive and opportunities for … students.”
“It’s really a wonderful opportunity for people to change careers or young people still trying to figure out what to do,” she said. “We’re really very excited to have a full-service provider right here on Main Street.”
Doreen Myszczenko, director of the Newburgh location, said certified nursing assistants tend to specialize in “quality bedside care” and often obtain positions in nursing homes, though some work in hospitals.
She said the training can be a “stepping stone” for eventual LPN or RN certification.
“Being a certified nursing assistant is a very rewarding career for people who want to help others,” she said.
Myszczenko said she’s glad the program has expanded to Peekskill.
“It’s very satisfying,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to offer the opportunity to people who maybe are not able to make it up to the Newburgh area to further their education.”
Student Lisa Hoyt, a resident of Putnam Valley, said she’s enrolled in the class as a “career change” — looking to make a move from the world of administration to a profession focused on helping others.
The class offers a chance to “get into the medical field at the ground level,” she said.
“I want to do this while I’m still young,” Hoyt said. “With baby boomers, it’s becoming a very viable field. Also, I feel like I’m giving back.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
