Training grants bring more skills, economic benefits to East Texas

Newsboy photo/ Sharon Kerr WHO KNEW learning medical coding could be so entertaining? Nurses and office staff at St. Christopher's Home Health Care train with an expert whose fees will be covered by a WorkForce Solutions grant. Left to right: Marlene Ruggles, Mary Cross, Veronica Scholer, Debra Norman, Charlotte Henry and Gretta Williams.

Nurses and staff at St. Christopher's Home Health Care tackled a difficult subject with gusto last week, yet another example of how WorkForce Solutions grants are benefiting businesses and the community in East Texas.

"This funding has allowed us to train all our staff at a level that would be impossible otherwise," said Jackie Authement Jr., administrator for St. Christopher's.

The home health agency was able to bring in an instructor from Denton who could train the whole staff on changes in Medicare coding.

"Knowing (the coding) and having an in-house workshop that everyone can attend ensures the financial well-being of our organization, and that we can effectively provide more and better medical services to the community," Authement said.

Jennifer Gobert, one of the business services team members at WFS, helped write the training grant.

Any company with three or more employees can apply for a reimbursement grant for training that provides current employees with new or enhanced skills, improved job performance, job retention and/or opportunities for promotion and increased wages.

So far in Jasper county, several companies have qualified and used the grants to go to conferences or training schools, to bring in instructors, and to train workers on advanced new systems.