Ten phlebotomists have graduated from a training program developed by the Fletcher Allen Workforce Development Institute and are now working in their new positions at Fletcher Allen Health Care. The students have been employed full-time by Fletcher Allen since April 20.
Of the ten graduates, six had been unemployed, and three were either underemployed or had a job that was at risk. The graduates are paid a minimum of $12.69 per hour with full benefits. The phlebotomy training also prepared the students to take the Phlebotomy Certification exam, issued by the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (NCA). All ten graduates passed their certification exam two weeks after graduation. They are also registered under a state apprenticeship program and will receive a certificate from this program upon completion.
A phlebotomist obtains blood specimens using venipuncture and capillary collection from patients of all ages. The pay scale for phlebotomists starts at $11.59 per hour with long-term earning potential of up to $17.37 per hour.
Nearly 400 individuals applied for the phlebotomist program, which is conducted under the auspices of the Fletcher Allen Workforce Development Institute, a partnership between Fletcher Allen Health Care and Vermont HITEC. Senator Patrick Leahy has secured nearly $1 million dollars in federal support for the Institute, which also receives funding from the Vermont Department of Economic Development and the Vermont Department of Labor. The phlebotomist program follows on the success of four previous training programs implemented by the partnership between Fletcher Allen and Vermont HITEC over the past four years, producing a total of 58 graduates who received jobs at Fletcher Allen.
The Fletcher Allen Workforce Development Institute was created in partnership with Vermont HITEC to help address critical workforce development needs by training unemployed and underemployed Vermonters for jobs that are persistently difficult to fill. The institute is designed to be flexible to match current workforce needs.
Fletcher Allen and Vermont HITEC developed their partnership in 2004 with funding assistance from both the State of Vermont and the U.S. Department of Labor. The first Vermont HITEC training session was conducted over an eight-month period in an intensive training program for 20 medical transcriptionists. This work-at-home program was followed by the launching of a more formal health care workforce development training institute developed with the support of a $325,000 federal grant secured by Senator Patrick Leahy. The federal funding allowed for the implementation of the workforce institute and associated programs. Senator Leahy has since secured another $588,000 to support additional training programs.