Northampton Community College

OSHA grants awarded

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration awarded $151,661 in grants to Northampton Community College. One of the grants is part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The monies would fund education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize infectious diseases, including coronavirus health hazards, and identify preventive measures for a safe workplace.

NCC would offer three to four hours of COVID-19 training to 700 healthcare industry employers and workers. Included would be persons who are of limited English speaking, low/nonliterate, youth, at-risk workers and small businesses. Training will include OSHA’s emergency temporary standard, and understanding worker rights and employer responsibilities.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 states that employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

CSA Level 2 course begins Oct. 6

Northampton Community College is offering a new Nursing Assistant Level 2 40-hour course to prepare participants to work in an advanced care setting. The course includes a combination of lectures and hands-on labs to train the student in performing more complex patient care skills. Those skills include phlebotomy, point of care testing for diabetic patients, bladder scans, EKGs, catheter removal, and assisting licensed nursing personnel in sterile technique situations.

The course will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays, Oct. 6 through Dec. 15, at the Fowler Family Southside Center, 511 E. Third St., Bethlehem. Certified nurse aide certification is required. There is a mandatory orientation session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Fowler Center. There is a class fee which includes materials needed for the class. To enroll, visit the course catalog on www.northampton.edu/healthcarecerts or call 610-332-6585.

Rethink Award grand prize winner

The U.S. Department of Education named Northampton Community College as the grand prize winner in its Rethink Adult Ed Challenge competition to advance pre-apprenticeships. The college was chosen from 85 submissions representing 31 states, Guam and the District of Columbia. NCC will receive $250,000.

College representatives spoke at the Department of Education’s Sept. 23 virtual workshop for adult education providers. The workshop shared the learning from the challenge. The department’s Creating Adult PreApprenticeships course was previewed.

Through the national challenge, the department aimed to address equity and access barriers and drive greater and more diverse participation in apprenticeships and the broader workforce.