Health Care Training Opportunities Abound: Full Employment Council Gets $5 Million Stimulus Grant

Kansas City, Mo. – The Full Employment Council in Kansas City has been awarded $5 million in stimulus money for a new program to prepare some 1,500 people for jobs in the fields of long-term care and allied health.

During a conference call where U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis made the announcement on Friday, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver said the award is great news for this area, especially as the population ages and the need for health care rises.

"This allows us to get some very important and valuable training out there to accommodate the increased demand in the health care arena," Cleaver said.

The Labor Department awarded more than $200 million in "health care and high growth" stimulus grants on Friday. Missouri is getting about $15 million. In addition to the Full Employment Council, programs in St. Louis and Neosho also received grants.

Kansas did not receive anything. The state, however, did receive $9 million last week through a different stimulus program for its health information exchange project.

Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.

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