ADEL, Ga. (WALB) - Across Georgia, there’s a growing need for certified nursing assistants. One South Georgia facility is stepping up to meet that demand.

Southwell Health and Rehabilitation in Adel is launching a new CNA Training Program aimed at helping people jumpstart a career in healthcare.

Sabrina Crumpton said, “I just like to see them having a great day, and I love the excited faces when I get here, they’re like ‘Oh, it’s you,’ I love it.”

Crumpton says what makes her job as a certified nursing assistant rewarding is the patients she cares for. Starting with the dream to be a nurse, Crumpton found passion in working closely with patients.

“It could be me, it could be anybody. I had a mom in the nursing home, and it was important to me that she was taken good care of. And I see each and every one the way I see my mom,” she said.

In the five-week program at Southwell, students will learn from those like Crumpton as they earn their certificate. If they agree to work for Southwell for a year after graduating, their tuition, books, and training costs covered by the healthcare provider.

Sandi Martin, Director of Nurses in Adel said, “We’ve had a challenge getting enough CNA’s. If you advertise for patient care techs you get a lot of applications and there aren’t as many certified nursing assistants, so we looked at bringing the program in-house to train our own and also to bring them in as employees to pay them while they go to school.”

Southwell says its CNA program will benefit South Georgia’s economy.

Martin said, “It will bring more jobs. Hopefully, we can find some CNA interests and maybe we can get them in here and get them trained so they will go on into nursing.”

The first class begins in August, but Southwell expects to interview more program applicants starting in September.

To qualify for the program, applicants must have a high school diploma or GED, pass a background check, complete drug and alcohol screening, and provide professional references.

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