The Riverside Growing Your Future Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A.) Apprenticeship Program is currently accepting applications (application form below).

Applications for winter 2023 semester are due to Riverside’s OD and Learning Department (email completed forms to: rhcscholarships@rhc.net ) no later than November 23, 2022.  

What is the Riverside C.N.A. Apprenticeship?

Riverside is committed to helping our employees throughout their career journey and has helped Riverside employees complete their C.N.A. while maintaining their Riverside job.  You can EARN while you learn.

The Certified Nursing Assistant Apprenticeship this fall is a 16 week, competency-based program in which students attend classes at Kankakee Community College and complete hands-on clinical experiences 2, 8 hour days per week for Monday and Wednesday (16 hours per week classroom/clinical time). Your registration fees, course fees, and books or related materials to attend the Kankakee Community College (KCC) C.N.A. program, if accepted into the program, are all paid and you are also paid for your 16 hours per week to attend the program by Riverside for your current position. You may continue to work in your current Riverside position while attending the program.  

What happens when I finish the program?

Upon successful completion of the program’s coursework and meeting State of Illinois requirements including passing the NATCEP exam, participants become a registered State of Illinois C.N.A.

If offered a C.N.A. job at Riverside Healthcare, participants are expected to accept the position at Riverside for a minimum of 18 months or pay back the educational funding received towards his/her C.N.A. to Riverside.

Who is Eligible?

Interested Riverside employees must meet all KCC admission requirements for the C.N.A. program to be eligible to participate in the apprenticeship program and must be in good standing as a Riverside employee (good standing means the employee may not have a written warning or greater in the past 12 months). Also, he/she must have worked at Riverside a minimum of 6 months before the program starts on 1/9/2023.

When does the program start?

Orientation for the winter semester is 12/5/22 and classes/clinicals are from 1/9/2023 to 5/12/2023.

What do CNAs do?

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) are very important members of our Riverside healthcare team. Becoming a C.N.A. is often the first step in someone becoming a nurse.  C.N.A.s are responsible for helping the entire clinical team and patients too. The compassion and skill of a C.N.A. in giving patient care helps reduce stress for those who are sick and unable to care for themselves. We employ C.N.A.s in the hospital and in our senior life areas. Being a C.N.A. is hard work—and very rewarding.  It is a wonderful opportunity to make a meaningful difference in a patient’s life.

Where do I send my application when complete?

Please complete this application and note what semester you are interested in attending classes. Return applications to Riverside’s ODL Department (email rhcscholarships@rhc.net).

Please contact the OD and Learning Department at 815-935-3276 or extension 22701 for more information—You will be notified if you are selected for the program along with your leader no later than 11/29/2022.

Applications for these scholarships are due to rhcscholarships@rhc.net no later than midnight on Monday, 10/24/2022.  

To learn more or download an application,  please visit RivernetàEducation PathwaysàTuition Reimbursement & College Options/Discounts. This website provides you with one-stop shopping for scholarships, tuition discounts-and more!

Each of the scholarships listed below is made possible by donations in memory of how Riverside made a difference in their life’s journey.

• The William R. Dyon Endowed Scholarship: This scholarship is for Riverside employees pursuing a non-nursing Bachelor’s Degree at Olivet Nazarene University.
• The Hendrickson Excellence Scholarship for Dementia Care:  This scholarship supports dementia certificates/certifications. Continuing Education courses (non-degree), Conferences or Dementia Speaker Experts, or resources that support developing, adopting, and implementing memory care/dementia best practices  to maximize patient, resident and caregiver wellbeing for the care and support of patients with dementia and memory-related illness.
• The Walter Kambic and Martin Benoit Non-Nursing Endowed Scholarship: This scholarship is for Riverside employees pursuing a non-nursing certificate, degree (Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral Degree at an accredited college/university.
• The Jim and Charlie Shafer Pharmacy Scholarship: This scholarship is for Riverside employed or contract pharmacists or pharmacy technicians with continuing education and/or certification programs in pharmacy.

In addition, the Nursing Excellence Fund  remains open for applications for national nursing board certification funding and for nurses pursuing their Bachelor of Science in Nursing from an accredited college.

At Riverside Healthcare, we seek opportunities to support lifelong learning—consider applying today and send all applications to rhcscholarships@rhc.net.

Riverside’s Behavioral Medicine Department sponsored an online training on Mental Health Awareness presented by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (course overview below). 

They have now made available a video of this course is via OLIE to view on demand. To view, log into OLIE and search under; NAMI. It will be the first course that appears in your search results, and the name is: National Alliance of Mental Illness Webinar – Mental Health Awareness (course code CLNBEH314). 

The first step to supporting your own and others’ mental health is awareness. This training will provide a foundation of knowledge on mental health & wellness. We will share resources, dive deep into the definition of wellness, learn how to recognize when someone is struggling, and identify ways to be supportive. Attendees will also leave the session with wellness strategies to better manage stress and engage in self-care. 

 Lastly, to reduce the stigma around mental health, a NAMI Chicago Ambassador will share their story of hope and recovery.

Note: This video is two hours in length but does allow you to stop and start as needed to view it. It may be slow to load based on your Internet connection due to the file size.