Premier Nursing Academy Expands Free CNA Training to Tampa, FL
Media Contact:
Chris Palevich, MBA, MSM
President, Premier Nursing Academy
Telephone 260-450-9647, [email protected]
July 9, 2019—Fort Wayne, Ind. Premier Nursing Academy, an institution offering free training to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA), has expanded into the Tampa market. Premier Nursing Academy first launched its state-approved training programs in Indiana to disrupt the traditional entry-level healthcare education model. Enrollees at Premier Nursing Academy receive training at no cost and have a guaranteed job upon graduation, thanks to area employer sponsors.
Premier Nursing Academy’s first Florida campus is in the Tampa metro area, located at Pinellas Place Shopping Center, 6501 102nd Ave., Suite 6473, Pinellas Park, FL 33782. With its approval from the Florida Board of Nursing, Premier Nursing Academy has begun recruiting for its first training class at the facility, which will start on August 5.
Premier Nursing Academy’s new Tampa-area location offers both daytime and evening schedules for students in Florida. Day classes are 4 weeks in length, Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Evening classes are offered from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, Monday through Friday, over a 6-week period. All training classes combine classroom instruction at Premier Nursing Academy’s training center and onsite clinical instruction at one of Premier Nursing Academy’s employer sponsors.
“We are incredibly excited for the growth of the institution into Florida,” says Matt Killday, Chief Operating Officer. “We have received overwhelming interest from employers in the area who are willing to sponsor and offer employment to our training candidates.”
Premier Nursing Academy was started with the goal of creating an enrollment-to-employment pipeline and has graduated 1,250 CNAs since its launch in 2017. Founders Chris Palevich, President of Premier Nursing Academy, and his father Rob Palevich recognized a shortage of qualified CNAs in their area and set out to create a solution that could benefit both employers and those looking to for a way into the healthcare profession.
“CNN Business projects a shortage of 95,000 CNAs by 2025, and we saw nothing in place in the education model aimed at addressing this talent gap,” says Chris Palevich. “While the shortage of healthcare professionals is a nationwide problem, we have found that the problem is especially acute in Florida with its growing retirement age population.”
About Premier Nursing Academy
Premier Nursing Academy is a contract training provider serving aspiring healthcare professionals. Founded in 2017 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Premier Nursing Academy offers an innovative no-cost training program with guaranteed job placement to graduates. All students enrolled at Premier Nursing Academy are matched with an employer sponsor that pays for their training and offers them employment after graduation. Premier Nursing Academy engages with employer partners by offering training to their existing workforce or helping to recruit and train new employees for entry-level healthcare positions. Premier Nursing Academy currently focuses on training certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in four- to six-week programs that prepare graduates to pass their CNA exam. Premier Nursing Academy operates in the Tampa, Florida, area, as well as in Fort Wayne, Goshen/Elkhart and South Bend, Indiana. Premier Nursing Academy is licensed by the Indiana State Department of Health and Florida Board of Nursing to provide CNA training.