Broadlawns Changes Lives While Building Nursing Pipeline

Broadlawns Medical Center sits just north of downtown Des Moines in one of Iowa’s poorest urban ZIP codes. But over the past six years, the hospital has become a beacon of hope for the 285 people who have launched themselves into promising healthcare careers. 

Broadlawns’ TEACH (Training and Education for Adults seeking a Career in Healthcare) and TECH (Training and Education for a Career in Healthcare) apprenticeship programs were honored by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on November 14 as part of Iowa’s kickoff to National Apprenticeship Week, November 17-23.  Reynolds toured the hospital, met with several apprentices, and signed a proclamation declaring Apprenticeship Week in Iowa.

Steve Johnson, government liaison for Broadlawns, highlighted the program’s focus on holistic support for apprentices. 

“We’re not just training people for a job, we’re looking at the whole person—understanding their challenges, their goals, and how we can help them succeed,” Johnson said. “The program provides not only skills but also the support they need to overcome personal barriers and build a future they can be proud of.”

Census figures show Broadlawns, a county-owned, 200-bed hospital, sits among households with some of the lowest median incomes in Iowa. In 2016, the hospital and a local nonprofit decided to do something about that by copying a successful program at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore. The local program launched the next year and became an official Registered Apprenticeship in 2018.

Eighty apprentices are currently involved in some portion of the Broadlawns program – a number that includes both individuals working to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and those preparing for more advanced training. 

“We created this program to help people with barriers to employment,” said program coordinator Dennis Henderson. “Whether it’s a criminal history, being a single parent, or just not having a good job history, we want to provide a steppingstone into a meaningful career.”

People accepted into an apprenticeship receive free training and one-on-one mentorship as a paid Broadlawns employee. Students who attend classes, perform their duties and demonstrate knowledge of the required skills eventually get credentialed as CNA. Broadlawns hires many of the program graduates itself but works to help them find jobs elsewhere if openings aren’t immediately available in the hospital.

“The only way you can fail is if you don’t want to do it,” Ramaun Ford, an apprentice who works as a healthcare technician in the Broadlawns intensive care unit told Reynolds and others assembled on November 14. “They won’t let you fail.”

Broadlawns officials say the earn-while-you-learn model can make a tremendous difference in elevating not only an individual’s career, but their entire family as well.

Jadyn, a 2019 TEACH program graduate whose testimonial is included on the Broadlawns website, said the apprenticeship made her realize that “I didn’t have to be a minimum wage-making felon, daughter of a 15-year-long meth abuser and deceased alcoholic father. I could be much more. The TEACH Program gave me an opportunity that no others would give me – to overcome my past, break generational curses, and a reason to hold my head high. For that, I’ll be forever grateful." 

Dane Sulentic, director of the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship, praised Broadlawns for successfully navigating the heavily regulated healthcare industry to create a pipeline for future potential employees. 

“They know what they’re doing, and they’ve devoted the necessary staff to it,” he said. “All of the places you need people, they’ve found ways to put them there.”

Broadlawns also is working on expanding that career ladder by making it possible for apprentices to advance even beyond becoming a CNA. 

Broadlawns is now in the process of being one of the first apprenticeship sponsors in Iowa to implement an apprenticeship program for registered nurses. The RN registered apprenticeship would act as an extension of Broadlawns’ current programs, allowing students to pass from high school to certification as a registered nurse without incurring any educational expense.

In exchange, Broadlawns hopes to develop a steady pipeline of registered nurses in an industry that perpetually needs RNs. As of November 4, Iowa had 3,828 posted job openings for registered nurses, by far the most in-demand job in the state.

“If they get to ‘registered nurse,’ ” they’re never going to be unemployed,” Johnson said. “They’ll be equipped to take care of some of the most critically ill patients in the hospital and will have options to work in different areas of the hospital.”

 Ramaun Ford, who was pondering a career in criminal justice before he found his home in healthcare, plans to keep learning as much as he can.

“There’s no reason for me to stop,” he said.

VIDEO: Watch Gov. Reynolds proclaim Apprenticeship Week in Iowa.

For more on Registered Apprenticeship, visit the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship.