Forest Hills Students Earn Nursing Assistant Certs On Campus
A Grandville training group and Ferris State are running a CNA certification program inside Forest Hills Central — the first time the program has lived in a high school.
Forest Hills Central High School students are earning nursing assistant certification and college credit through a new partnership between Grandville's Center for Medical Training and Ferris State University. Students take Ferris coursework online, train in skills on Fridays at school, then do clinical rotations at local facilities. It's the first time the Center has operated inside another school's building, and it arrives as West Michigan healthcare employers keep chasing open staffing slots.
Forest Hills Central High School seniors are spending their Fridays learning to take vitals, move patients, and measure blood pressure — right in their own building. A new partnership between the Center for Medical Training in Grandville and Ferris State University puts a nursing assistant certification program on campus for the first time this school year. It's also the first time the Center, now in its third year, has run training inside another school instead of its own classroom.
The setup: students work through Ferris State coursework online during the week, then do hands-on skills training on Fridays at Forest Hills Central in Ada Township. Next come clinical rotations in local nursing homes and healthcare facilities. The goal is for participating students to pass Michigan's nurse aide exam before the semester ends — with college credit attached.
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It lands as West Michigan hospitals and nursing homes keep chasing open shifts more than three years after COVID. The pitch is straightforward: certify workers before they graduate and keep them local. On a recent facility tour, students met program graduates already working on staff. The Center already partners with several districts, so if this model holds in Ada, expect other Kent County schools to come calling.
