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Summary
On this episode, host Peter Murphy Lewis talks to Jenni Torres, Education Service Coordinator at Nebraska Health Care Association. Jenny shares how her first year in the role has focused on outreach, education, and supporting students from diverse communities across Nebraska. She highlights her work connecting schools and agencies, building CNA pathways, and promoting programs like their Spanish track to better serve the local Latino community.
Key Takeaways:
(00:00) Introduction.
(02:33) Experience working with diverse populations adds value to health care education efforts.
(03:27) Community engagement is highlighted through events like the Latino Festival in Lincoln.
(03:45) Students retaking certification exams show resilience when supported through challenges.
(5:44) Around 20% of students enrolled in the Nebraska Health Care Association education program have English as a second language.
(6:50) Patience and passion are key requirements for success in the long-term care industry.
(8:20) Not all cultures are familiar with long-term health care facilities. It's important to know about the resources available in your community.
Resources Mentioned:
Nebraska Health Care Association website
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Transcript
Jenni Torres: The best part of my first year is learning about our Spanish manual that we have, so trying to get out there and promoting that more to the community itself.
Peter Murphy Lewis: The world does not run on headlines, it runs on people who care. I'm Peter Murphy Lewis and this is "People Worth Caring About." Alongside my co-host, Jalene Carpenter, we sit down with the unsung heroes, caregivers, healers, helpers, the ones doing the real work, even when no one is watching. These conversations are not polished, they're personal because behind every act of care is a story worth hearing. New episodes drop regularly. Get updates at peopleworthcaringabout.com.
Jenni Torres: My name is Jenni Torres, and I'm with the Nebraska Healthcare Association. I'm the Education Service Coordinator, and this is "People Worth Caring For."
Peter Murphy Lewis: Jenni, let's hear about everything that you're doing at Nebraska Health Care Association. You've been here about a year. And I want the audience to know, the first part of this we're going to do in English, and then we're going to do a little bit in Español.
Jenni Torres: Sounds good.
Peter Murphy Lewis: All right, so tell me, how has your first year been? What have you been doing?
Jenni Torres: It's been a good year. I feel I'm learning more about the association, as well as the industry of long-term care. We've been doing a lot of updates in our education, as well as outreach programming, so connecting ourselves with schools, also with the community, especially our diverse community in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Peter Murphy Lewis: And you're in the education department?
Jenni Torres: That is correct.
Peter Murphy Lewis: What does that mean? What are you educating about?
Jenni Torres: My role is getting the students registered for classes, but along also being there for the students and also supporting our instructors with any resources they might need. I also help Connie, which is one of our curriculum managers. It is nice to be part of that because you can see our students coming in and being able to continue their journey, either where it leads them to be a CNA or higher education. It's nice to see that.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Just for the audience, because not every state does their own training in CNA certification, Nebraska's had this training for a while, or is it new?
Jenni Torres: I'm not sure how long the college has been on, but since I've been there, it's been part of the NHCA. It's just under the umbrella of it as well.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Did you become a CNA?
Jenni Torres: I am not a CNA. I don't have much background in long-term care. Most of my background has been working in the community with our diverse community and being in the school system.
Peter Murphy Lewis: How hard was it for you to learn long-term care, all the acronyms, all the abbreviations, all the health terms?
Jenni Torres: I'm still learning them. Yeah, sometimes it takes me a while, but I have really good support and a good team that helps me along, so yes.
Peter Murphy Lewis: What has been the best part of your first year?
Jenni Torres: The best part of my first year is learning about our Spanish manual that we have, so trying to get out there and promoting that more to the community itself. And being more in the outreach. I love being in the community, so being able to still continue to do that has been great.
Peter Murphy Lewis: What do you mean outreach? Are you going to high schools? Are you speaking at community colleges? What are you doing?
Jenni Torres: Yeah, so we're going to career fairs or education fairs. We've gone to schools to do that as well. We're going to the Latino Festival in September here in Lincoln, so getting that information, connecting with other agencies. We currently have a partnership with Lincoln Literacy, so continuing that with them.
Peter Murphy Lewis: What are your goals? Do you have a certain amount of students that you want to enroll?
Jenni Torres: I don't have a certain amount of students. I just want to be able to know that if they are not able to pass the first time, their class, that they're willing to come back and give it a try. So just being able to continue to support them on their goals.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Do you have any stories that have inspired you, of students that you've got to enroll and they've got through it and they got a job and they were excited?
Jenni Torres: Yeah. So we do have a couple of students. I would say it's mostly our students that English is not their first language, just seeing that they're willing to give this a try, even though maybe some of the medical terms might be a little bit different to their own language. Unfortunately, sometimes they don't pass the first time, but just knowing that they're calling us back to be able to come back and retake the class and actually passing it the second time, it's just amazing to see how determined they are and how they're willing to adapt to new changes and a new world that they might not be familiar to.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Lovely. Well, congratulations on your first year.
Jenni Torres: Thank you.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Let's transition into Espanol.
Jenni Torres: Okay. [foreign language 00:04:48] .
Peter Murphy Lewis: This show is powered by AAG Health, the team behind the teams. If you are building a care team that actually cares, nurses, doctors, techs, admin, pros, AAG doesn't just fill jobs, they find people who show up and stay. Visit aag.health and see how fast the right people can make all the difference. [foreign language 00:05:20].
Jenni Torres: [foreign language 00:05:22].
Peter Murphy Lewis: [foreign language 00:05:22].
Jenni Torres: [foreign language 00:05:22].
Peter Murphy Lewis: [foreign language 00:05:22].
Jenni Torres: [foreign language 00:05:22].
Peter Murphy Lewis: [foreign language 00:06:37].
Jenni Torres: [foreign language 00:06:51].
Peter Murphy Lewis: [foreign language 00:07:26].
Jenni Torres: [foreign language 00:07:40].
Peter Murphy Lewis: [foreign language 00:09:22].
Jenni Torres: [foreign language 00:09:44].
Peter Murphy Lewis: That's a wrap on "People Worth Caring About," born from the documentary, built to keep the stories going. Shout out to Nebraska Health Care Association and Jalene Carpenter for helping launch it, and to Ohio and New Mexico for making future seasons real. Watch the docuseries online or at peopleworthcaringabout.com. And if this episode meant something to you, leave a review, it matters. Take care of yourself and the people worth caring about.
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