Military Spouses To Continue Healthcare Training
Falls Church, VA – Military to Medicine, Inova Health System’s not-for-profit program that provides healthcare training and career opportunities to military spouses and others in the extended military family, is projected to provide between 100 to 150 scholarships to military spouses in response to the recent MyCAA program interruption.
“The scholarships allow these military spouses to continue pursuing their portable career goals,” said Daniel Nichols, Executive Director, Military to Medicine. “Without a scholarship, the spouses’ training would be delayed or potentially stopped and we know the negative impact this would have on their families.”
Military to Medicine provides scholarships to participants in its program who don’t qualify for funding from programs like MyCAA. “For every one MyCAA recipient, Military to Medicine provides four more scholarships to others in its program,” said Nichols. “In these cases, the military spouses were enrolled in our program, but had not been approved for MyCAA Financial Aid, prior to the MyCAA hiatus. Since the eligibility for this benefit is now uncertain, we wanted to guarantee that these students’ training would continue,” said Nichols.
The Military to Medicine program serves military spouses, wounded warriors and their caregivers, Veterans, National Guard, Reserve and their spouses, as well as service members transitioning to civilian employment. As a practice, Military to Medicine prices its program well below the $6,000 that the MyCAA program currently provides military spouses. This gives spouses greater opportunity to receive training and education. MyCAA is a Department of Defense program that provides eligible military spouses with up to $6,000 to help pay for training in portable careers.
“We applaud the MyCAA program and the opportunities it provides military spouses,” said Nichols. “Prior to its inception, military spouses were turned away from Workforce Development programs, due to military family financial constraints and that talent was left untapped,” he said. Offering both healthcare training and career opportunities, Military to Medicine is creating a winning solution for individuals in the extended military family who want to work and with healthcare organizations who need quality, qualified employees.
“Healthcare jobs are in demand across the country. At the same time, there are more than 650,000 military spouses stationed in the U.S. Nearly 80 percent of these spouses desire a job, but find the frequent military moves makes establishing a career too difficult,” said Nichols. “Our program provides those interested in healthcare careers with both training and/or career placement assistance.
The Military to Medicine program started as a recruitment initiative at Inova Health System, the largest healthcare system in Northern Virginia, in partnership with the US Army Reserve Employer Partnership Office and the Department of Defense in 2008.
Seeing the immediate positive contribution that this military talent pool provides its organization, Inova is launching the Military to Medicine program nationwide in April. Military to Medicine is a program of Inova Health System. Inova Health System is a not-forprofit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes.
Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.
Lisa Klein
Assistant Director, Marketing
Military to Medicine
8110 Gatehouse Road Suite 610
West Falls Church,
VA 22042
Office: 703.208.5920 Cell: 571.235.8965
