Eleanor Foundation | Partnerships | St. Anthony Hospitalo Expands Healthcare Training Initiative

A network of resources to support economic self-sufficiency

Another Replicable Model

With skilled healthcare workers in high demand, the Eleanor Foundation supports its collaboration with the Kinzie Industrial Development Corporation and Superior Ambulance Service. This innovative program gives under-employed women, some of whom are single mothers, an opportunity to invest in their own education and to develop a viable career path without any financial burden. Read about the partnership here.

Chicago Expands Healthcare Training

Replicates Eleanor Program at St. Anthony Hospital

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June 1, 2010

On February 24, 2010, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced a citywide healthcare School at Work (SAW) initiative that replicates a St. Anthony Hospital program launched collaboratively with Eleanor Foundation and Steans Family Foundation. The 13-hospital initiative, "Building a Career Ladder in Healthcare," is a career- development program that leverages St. Anthony's success in advancing its entry-level hospital workers.

A resource member of the Eleanor Network, St. Anthony provides education and support that its entry-level employees need for promotion into skilled jobs in which they can earn higher salaries and meet the hospital's workforce needs. In its first year, all 18 enrolled employees completed the 8-month basic healthcare education program and many became eligible for higher-skilled jobs at St. Anthony. While working full-time, 17 pro-gram graduates are pursuing advanced coursework at Wright College.

St. Anthony also teamed up with Heartland Alliance, another Eleanor Network member, to provide financial management classes which saw the enrolled employees' average credit scores go up from 550 to 650. Together with Steans Family Foundation, Eleanor Foundation in December renewed support for this thriving program.

"The St. Anthony Hospital program is helping the City build on the steps we have already taken to ensure that the investments we make in education, job training and business support the overall health of Chicago's economy, and create a workforce whose skills match the needs of local employers."

Mayor Daley

St. Anthony's SAW team is mentoring the 12 new institutions, developing resources for individuals and working with City officials to help hospital employees access public benefits. According to Eleanor Foundation research, only 5% of single working women receive public support of any kind.

"Through this new initiative, Chicago is building on ideas that work," explained Commissioner Mary Ellen Caron, Ph.D., of the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services. "We are grateful to the Eleanor Foundation and Steans Family Foundation for seeding this innovative program. This is the kind of collaboration that makes Chicago a great home for working families."