Thanks to scholarships and partnerships, two students in the Warren County Career Center Health and Medical Assisting Program will be able to complete the Phlebotomy Training Program through Jamestown Community College’s Workforce Readiness Division at the Warren Forest Higher Education Council.

Third-year HMA students Mia Johnson and Madison Howard are attending the phlebotomy training at Hi-Ed while continuing their work at the career center.

To help enable them to take the course, the students received scholarships from Hi-Ed that were funded by the Community Foundation of Warren County.

The HMA program does introduce students to phlebotomy.

Photos submitted to the Times Observer Year 3 Student Madison Howard performs a venipuncture using the IV/Phlebotomy Simulator in the Multidisciplinary Simulation Center of the WCCC Health & Medical Assisting Program.

“Students were well-prepared for the course content thanks to the direct instruction of Years 2 and 3 instructor Diane Swartz,” Instructor Kylie Harris said.

The program has a Multidisciplinary Simulation Center with a simulated phlebotomy lab, Harris said.

That equipment allows Swartz to introduce and students to practice “the complex procedure.”

But, students cannot earn phlebotomy certification through the career center.

“The formal certification process is not something that we are able to complete in-house but is being issued through Jamestown Community College, for which we are tremendously grateful,” Harris said.

2nd and 3rd Year HMA Instructor Diane Swartz instructs student Madison Howard on appropriate technique and safety considerations when performing a venipuncture in the Phlebotomy Lab of the WCCC HMA Multidisciplinary Simulation Center.

Even with the program, the students will not be ready to begin careers in phlebotomy. The students will have to follow-up. After they complete the course, they must complete 75 hours of instruction and lab time and another 25 hours of clinical experience, Harris said.

“I am very excited to be taking this phlebotomy class and really anxious to see where it takes me,” Howard said. “I hope to work in this field – it is a great beginning to my healthcare career.”

“I feel very excited and fortunate for the opportunity to take this class,” Johnson said. ” I look forward to starting my career in healthcare as a phlebotomist very soon.”

“I am so proud of these girls and their willingness to take advantage of this exciting certification opportunity,” Swartz said. “Most of all I am grateful for the efforts of Hope Punsky (JCC Phlebotomy instructor), Sandy McGuire (JCC Assistant), Grant Umberger (JCC Director, Workforce Readiness), Joan Stitzinger (Hi-Ed Council Executive Director), and John Lasher (Community Foundation Executive Director) in all they did to make this experience possible for our students.”

“Mrs. Swartz has an incredible passion for her students, often going above and beyond to help each student discover and fully plan their unique future career pathways,” Harris said. ” We are so proud of our WCCC students and so incredibly thankful for the continued support from our community and educational partners to help our students achieve their educational goals.”

Student Mia Johnson performs a venipuncture using the IV/Phlebotomy Simulator in the Multidisciplinary Simulation Center of the WCCC Health & Medical Assisting Program.