MILWAUKEE — After asking for more positive news in the community, I learned about a special adult learning center on the north side that’s preparing people to join the medical field, so I had to see for myself.
There's something special happening at the New Beginning Adult Learning Center on 77th and Burleigh.
"I don’t feel like I’m just another paycheck, they really want you to grow," said Yvonne Thomas, a student at the New Beginning Adult Learning Center.
Yvonne Thomas has been in the medical field for 20 years & she's going back to school.
"[It] lets me know I can still do this. Let me know if I can keep going like there’s no age limit. I mean there are people older than me, younger than me," said Thomas.
The learning center offers affordable accelerated healthcare training, in a field that's in desperate need of medical workers.
"You’re able to get out in the field sooner, quicker, you're gaining the skills you need," said Kizzie Bland.
Kizzie Bland is the director; she started the center because of her own challenges getting started in the medical field.
"A lot of times, people think that going back to school is impossible because of their work life or home life. I figure 6 months is pretty long. When you need to advance right now, you need something that you can start doing at this moment to start making money," said Bland.
Student Damerious Sampson agrees.
"Sometimes people don’t have that opportunity to do that, and so having an accelerated learning center, I think it’s very beneficial," said Damerious Sampson.
In as little as 4 weeks, students can attain a phlebotomy certification with no experience required.
"I don’t have to sit for a year and do this cause I know this program can go from like six months to a year. If you’re a parent, if you have a job, if you have more than one job, I mean it’s only eight weeks," said Thomas.
Students also tell me the inner-city location is also key.
"You got people that don’t have transportation, people that are not familiar that don’t travel outside of Milwaukee," said Serya Jordan, a student at the center.
"I don’t have to drive to Waukesha or like Pewaukee. I know exactly where I’m going," said Thomas.
"This is where it's needed. Sometimes we have people on the bus line; they can’t get out to the suburban areas," said Bland.
The center is dedicated to helping adults meet the requirements for employment with the goal of partnering with high schools to get teens exposed to medical careers. Kizzi Bland tells me this is just the beginning.
"Come see what we do here, to understand the impact that we have not just on the community but the healthcare industry itself," says Bland.
For more info and to enroll, click here.
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