Unitek Joins Forces with Banner Health and Launches New Initiative

Newport Beach, CA–Unitek Learning has announced an educational partnership with nonprofit Banner Health to expand their Career Pathways for Essential Frontline Healthcare Workers program. The Career Pathways program supports employees currently working in areas such as environmental services, culinary, and patient transport who want to move into essential frontline health care roles.

“People are at the center of all we do and by investing in our team members’ futures, we can continue to deliver meaningful care together,” said Julie Ann Alvarado-Dubek, Banner Health EVP and Chief HR Officer. “Our Career Pathways program is a creative approach to help our team members realize their clinical aspirations, while simultaneously addressing the health care worker shortage.”

Thanks to a $1.2M workforce development grant issued to the Banner Health Foundation from Maricopa County, the Career Pathways program provides a fully funded experience for eligible team members to receive career advisement, job shadowing, education and support services to develop and transition into high-demand jobs.

Through the partnership, Banner Health employees can enroll at no cost in medical assisting and sterile processing programs at Brookline College. Students receive on-site instruction, access to simulation labs, and hands-on clinical training and can attend the programs through the Phoenix or Tempe campuses.

“An increased demand for a strong workforce has been evidenced by recent events,” said Karilyn Van Oosten, VP of Strategic Business Development at Unitek Learning. “Our partnership with Banner Health will allow Unitek Learning and Brookline College to become part of the solution. We want to help create a career-ready workforce that is needed by an organization like Banner Health.

By joining this partnership, Unitek Learning has committed to providing Banner Health participants with a specialized tuition rate, waived application fee, and the ability to start classes every month at Brookline College. Through this partnership, Unitek Learning has identified themselves as one of Arizona’s most dedicated academic institutions.

“At Unitek, we are committed to education and workforce alignment so that the next generation can thrive,” saidDr. Abdel Yosef, Chief Academic Officer at Unitek Learning. “We’re honored to join forces with Banner Health and help transform the healthcare workforce. As a learning institution, we measure Unitek’s success by our capacity to increase the quality of teaching overall.

Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Unitek programs teach the clinical practices and theory used in the field today. Equipped with a multitude of sought-after skills, Unitek graduates are prepared to excel in many of the fastest-growing careers in health care and nursing.

Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 30 acute-care hospitals, Banner also has an academic division, Banner–University Medicine, and a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner’s array of services includes a health-insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits, and Banner operates a free 24/7 nurse line for health questions or concerns. Patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.