EIRMC to receive state training funds
Idaho’s Workforce Development Council has allocated $31,500 from its training fund to help Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, in Idaho Falls train new health care professionals. At an average cost of $2,900 each, the funding will train ten registered nurses and a child life specialist for the hospital’s new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
The Idaho Department of Labor says the average wage for those jobs is $24 an hour.
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter commented, “This investment in Idaho’s health care workforce illustrates both the importance of health care to our economy and communities and the priority that we place on addressing the real and pressing need for health care professionals throughout Idaho.”
The Workforce Development Training Fund is financed through a 3 percent set-aside on unemployment insurance taxes and reimburses companies for the cost of training employees for new jobs, if those new jobs pay at least $12 an hour and include employer-provided health care. Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is the first health care provider to receive a commitment from the Department of Labor for the training assistance.
