Northwest Assistance Ministries expanded its health care offerings in September and plans to devote space to medical instruction in its new building under construction in response to increased interest in its programs.

NAM will have more room for its instructional programs when construction is completed on a new building behind its headquarters on 15555 Kuykendahl Road. The new building, which will also house a resale shop, will open in late 2017.

“What we would like to do is create a hospital room or a medical room, and then—through partnerships with the Harris County Department of Education and other entities—offer that training on-site,” NAM President and CEO Carole Little said.

NAM currently offers sterile-processing classes at its headquarters, and in September it added a second 14-week section because of demand for the training, Learning Center Director Mary Silbert said.

The classes are free to students through the United Way Thrive program, which helps families to acquire job training and find employment.

“The health care industry is one of the strongest industries in our particular area,” Little said. “There is a great demand for entry-level positions, and  it can lead to a career path.”

Sterile processors can make a starting salary above minimum wage—about $16 per hour—and the job can lead to higher pay of more than $20 an hour as a surgical technician, Silbert said.

“This is an area every hospital has, but you don’t think about it,” Silbert said. “You have to have a sterile processing area to inventory all of those instruments and clean them.”

Participants in NAM training programs can also take classes in phlebotomy and receive Certified Nursing Assistant training at the Continuing Education Center at the Lone Star College-North Harris campus.

“These certificates give them workforce training that would allow them to enter the workforce in six to 14 weeks,” said Kenya Crawford, director of continuing education at LSC- North Harris.

This year, 61 people completed vocational training through NAM, Silbert said.

NAM, a nonprofit founded by 10 interfaith organizations in 1983, provides assistance to Northwest Houston residents who need help meeting basic needs. It also provides short-term job training at no cost to residents through a collaboration with United Way and a partnership with the Lone Star College System.

For more information about NAM job training programs, call 281-885-4616 or visit www.namonline.org.

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