Accolade Healthcare is pleased to announce that Terri Richards will serve as our CNA Program Coordinator. Accolade Healthcare is working to launch a new training program to incorporate CNA courses onsite and Terri’s experiences made her the perfect fit to lead our team.

Terri is a Registered Nurse with experiences ranging from hospital, home care, long term care and education.  Most recently Terri taught the CNA Course at Parkland College for 17 years, which included recertifying CNA’s whose status had gone inactive. In addition, Terri had a Pedicure business for seniors for 27 years and recently started her own home care agency.

Accolade Healthcare expanding our educational resources will be a huge win for the Illinois based Skilled Nursing Facilities. Staffing shortages have hit a record high since the pandemic started and operators are needing to find a solution to generate more applicants. The CNA program aims to provide more opportunities to Central Illinois rural residents who may need closer accommodations for travel. Each of the six skilled nursing facilities already have an Auxiliary Aide program, which allows for students to work with non-clinical duties while attending their courses. Accolade Healthcare is still in the initial stages, but hopeful to launch in the fall of 2022.