Producing local nurses behind program

Reyes

Leticia Reyes dreamt of producing local nurses that would work and take care of the sick and elderly of the CNMI. That’s why in 2009 she sought the help of various partners to begin a nursing assistant program.

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., the Northern Marianas College, the Public School System, and the Workforce Investment Agency supported her dream of having the Saipan Southern High School as the associate institution for the pilot program.

“We started from scratch. There are times that I don’t know if what we’re doing was right. It was all trial and error,” said Reyes, a former nursing director at CHCC, in last Saturday’s Nursing Assistant Pinning and Path of Light Ceremony of 28 SSHS students.

The 28 students are part of Cohort 6, the last class that Reyes handled after she has already resigned at CHCC and would transfer to Saipan Health Clinic.

“I’ve been working as a nurse for a long time. And we talked about how to produce local nurses in the CNMI. That’s why we thought of the idea of starting it at an early level. Introduce a program for high school students,” said Reyes.

“Some were reluctant at first since they thought nursing is hard. They wanted to join but don’t know how and know nothing. With the proper guidance and giving them time to learn they found out that it is not that hard,” she said.

“We saw the potential of all the students that became part of the program. We saw how dedicated they were in caring for the patients. Some also showed that they have experience in taking care of others since they also took care of their relatives or other family members at home,” Reyes added.

She said that she is still convincing members of Cohort 5 to continue their studies in nursing.

CNMI Department of Labor Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero, in a message read by Frances Torres, said the CNMI healthcare sector “could not be any better without your commitment and desire to pursue your career in the profession.”

“As we all know people are living longer and will also need professionals like you. You are one of the many in the world who have the heart, patience, and overall desire to care for humanity with their medical needs,” DeLeon Guerrero said.

Steffie Cate Alipio, Ayanna Atalig, Rhea Banados, Lizel Bandales, Hanzel Bataan, Agnela Cruz, Jacqueline Dalawampu, Lethel Estioko, Marchie Fernandez, Hannah Hofschneider, Mae Indalecio, Jun Pyo Jeon, William Johnson, Martin Kapileo, Celya Kaufer, Ji Sun Lee, Juliet Lee, Robyn Lee, Mariol Joy Lopez, Annika Matias, Sergio Mendiola, Fariha Omar, Serafina Rogoyawa, Narleen Siech, Katheyrine Tuquero, and Hoi Lun Yu are the students who finished the nursing assistant program.