OHSU union-backed training program certifies 110 for healthcare jobs

Oregon Health & Science University’s Building Bridges to Healthcare Careers program has certified 110 Portland-area residents for healthcare roles, surpassing the initiative’s original goal of 88 participants.

The three-year program, backed by $3 million and funded through Future Ready Oregon, was built through what the health system described in a July 13 news release as an unusual labor-management collaboration. AFSCME Local 328, OHSU’s largest collective bargaining unit, played a leading role in creating the program.

Participants completed training to become dental assistants, medical assistants, phlebotomists or certified nursing assistants. According to the release, the program was designed to help people prepare for these jobs while still remaining employed during training.

Ernest Perry, OHSU vice president of talent acquisition and culture, said the results went beyond what the organization expected. The program’s outcomes, he said, exceeded OHSU’s expectations.

The training required roughly 10 hours of study per week. That schedule allowed participants to keep working while they completed the coursework, the release said. In addition to the instruction itself, the program offered financial support tied to transportation, childcare, housing, technology and food.

OHSU said community organization Unite Oregon handled outreach efforts to recruit candidates from communities of color and lower-income areas. Applications were open to both community members and current OHSU employees, and some of the participants previously worked in food service, custodial or landscaping positions.

The program’s emphasis on access appears to have been central to its design. By reducing the amount of time needed outside of work and by providing support for basic expenses, the initiative aimed to make training feasible for people who might otherwise have been unable to participate. The source did not report additional eligibility requirements beyond the open application process for community members and existing staff.

Certified graduates received priority consideration for open positions at OHSU, according to the release. The health system said it is continuing to offer in-house dental assistant training, and partners are exploring ways to sustain the model.

Portland-based OHSU is Oregon’s only public academic health center and the city’s largest employer. The source did not report how many graduates have already moved into jobs at OHSU or whether the program will be expanded beyond the current training options.

The effort reflects a broader workforce strategy focused on creating entry points into healthcare careers for local residents. In this case, the combination of union involvement, employer participation and community outreach was central to the program’s structure, according to OHSU’s release.

The news release framed the program as a partnership effort, with AFSCME Local 328 helping drive its creation and Unite Oregon supporting outreach. OHSU said the collaboration helped the program reach people from communities that are often underrepresented in healthcare training pipelines.

The three-year initiative was not described in the source as a formal degree program. Instead, it focused on certifications for specific clinical support roles, including dental assistants, medical assistants, phlebotomists and certified nursing assistants. Those roles are commonly used in healthcare settings and can provide a pathway into the workforce, though the source did not compare the program with other local training efforts.

OHSU’s report highlighted the training model’s flexible structure and support services as key features. The source said participants could keep working during the program and received help with practical needs that might otherwise make it difficult to attend classes consistently.

No further details were provided in the source about graduation ceremonies, participant demographics, placement rates or future enrollment numbers. OHSU and its partners, however, are continuing to examine how the model can be sustained.

For now, the program’s certified 110 participants mark a result above the original target and add to OHSU’s broader workforce development efforts in Portland.