LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC) is partnering with a group of New York City hospitals to train and place New Yorkers in entry-level healthcare jobs.
The college is partnering with Northwell Health, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York University Langone and Montefiore Medical Center to train and place New Yorkers with a high school diploma or equivalency in entry-level jobs as Central Service Technicians (CSTs).
CSTs, also known as sterile processing technicians, are essential members of hospital and surgical center teams. They are responsible for sterilizing, cleaning and processing medical supplies and equipment. These technicians also assemble, store and distribute medical supplies, making their role vital to the smooth operation of healthcare facilities.
This spring, LaGuardia’s CST program served 120 students in four cohorts. The four-month program involves 18 weeks of classroom learning, with weekday evening and weekend classes to better accommodate students. Following the classroom section, students complete a 400-hour internship (25-35 hours/week), which they can complete based on their schedule.
After completing their internships, students get provisional certification from LAGCC and take the national Certified Registered Central Service Technician exam.
Alyssa Cugini, director of quality and process improvement at Northwell Sterile Processing in Bethpage, Long Island, said the Northwell and LaGuardia partnership has created a concrete pipeline to employment for program participants. “The partnership between Northwell and LaGuardia provides students with a seamless transition from didactic education to hands-on learning. The outcome is confident, experienced and well-rounded central sterile technicians. As a result, 100% of LaGuardia interns who have completed their hours at the Off-Site Reprocessing Center have secured their CST certification, and 85% have joined the Northwell health system.”
The CST program was launched a decade ago and expanded over the past two years through initiatives, including the NYC Accelerated Workforce Recovery Hub and the Jobs Direct Initiative, which aim to provide workforce development and job training for low-income residents.
The two programs were launched in 2022 as part of LaGuardia’s effort to help residents recover from economic loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Recovery Hub is supported in part by a $1.65 million grant from the New York Community Trust, the city’s community foundation. Jobs Direct was launched with support from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, the Siegel Family Endowment, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, Amazon, the Pinkerton Foundation and the TD Charitable Foundation.
Sunil B. Gupta, vice president of Continuing Education at LAGCC said the college is grateful for the support from the non-profit organizations.
“Funding from the NYC Accelerated Workforce Recovery Hub and Jobs Direct Initiative enables us to provide CST students with scholarships covering 80–100% of tuition, paid hands-on internships, job placement assistance, soft skills training and more,” said Gupta.
Gupta added that LaGuardia is proud to partner with the New York City hospitals in training. “The CST training program is ideal for someone with a high school diploma or equivalency who wants to get to work quickly in health care,” he said.
The LaGuardia CST program is currently recruiting for the Fall 2024 cohort. Those interested in applying can fill out an online form for more information on upcoming information sessions. For any questions, please contact Karini Rodriguez at krodriguez@lagcc.cuny.edu or aceprofessional@lagcc.cuny.edu.
