Grace Health celebrates inaugural CCMAs class

Twenty-five Grace Health employees were recently recognized at a pinning ceremony for going the extra mile to become certified clinical medical assistants (CCMAs). (Photo submitted.)

Students graduate with 100 percent pass rate

Twenty-five Grace Health employees were recognized on January 12 at a pinning ceremony for going the extra mile by becoming certified clinical medical assistants (CCMAs). “These ladies work full-time jobs in addition to taking weekly classes and a national exam to become certified clinical medical assistants. At Grace Health, we recognize the impact that these certified CMAs will have on our patients and on our community and are proud to publicly recognize all of their efforts,” said Grace Health CEO Michael Stanley. The CCMA class, called Grace University, was offered exclusively through Grace Health and was the brainchild of Kim Bingham, Senior Director of Human Resources, and Jennifer Collins, instructor.

“It was something I had to put together and do in six weeks when I would normally do it in 16 weeks,” said Collins. “But it wasn’t just me. I brought the materials but we kind of worked through it together. Everybody helped each other.” Bingham recalled in the earlier stages of developing the class that she had told Collins “the goal was for ten people. I said, ‘This will be a successful class if we walk away and ten people become certified.”

Not only did they surpass this goal, but 25 employees took the national certification exam and the inaugural class graduated with a 100 percent pass rate.
Collins never doubted these women could pass their national certification test.

“When they were taking the test, I didn’t have any worries. When they walked out, I was pretty confident we were going to get a message saying that they all passed,” continued Collins. Some areas of study among the graduating class include anatomy and physiology, infection control, phlebotomy, electrocardiogram and cardiovascular testing, medical law ethics, patient care and customer service.

In celebration of the charter members’ achievements, each of the graduates received a certificate, a CCMA pin and a Grace University pin from Stanley, Bingham and Collins. “I was so glad! I was honored to have the opportunity to do this, especially with people I work with. It was really great and I hope they keep doing it year after year. It will be really good,” said graduate Heather Hensley.

Indeed, this inaugural class is only the first of many for Grace University. Grace Health associates plan to continue the classes and offer as many employees as possible the ability to positively impact their own lives and that of those around them.

“Grace Health believes in and encourages our employees to be the best they can be for our patients, for our clinics and for our communities. Our hope is to encourage other employees to become students of Grace University where we will continue to grow in knowledge and in ability to better serve the people of our area with Christ-centered care,” concluded Stanley.