With the high demand for nursing aides, the Fort Lupton branch of Aims Community College will try to help fill the gap.

The college is offering one class per semester through the "Care For Colorado" state grant signed by Governor Jared Polis.

Shelly Powell, Aims Community College Med Prep Programs chair, said the program will help pay all the necessary supplies.

"Your gait belts, supplies, books, and the tuition,"  Powell said.

Powell said it's an effort to try to fill positions and get people back into health care with opportunities in long-term rehabilitation, nursing homes, home health care, assisted living facilities and hospitals.

"Also, high school students can take the course and possibly have it paid for through their high school. Home health care companies are flexible with school schedules," said Kendra Merriott, Aims Community College program coordinator.

The Greeley Aims campus also offers the Nurses Aide program. A career as a Nurse's Aide could lead to other allied health programs in nursing, such as radiology tech, with many growth opportunities.

To get started with the program, students must attend an hour-long orientation to sign up for the class and learn about the requirements of a nurse's aide, health requirements, background checks, and everything they need to know before starting the classes.

The orientation begins on February 8 at 5:30 p.m., in prairie building room 208, and orientation is on March 2.

The class is a hybrid with two days a week on campus supplemented by course study online. The nurse's aide certificate course is up to six weeks with classroom learning, a 30-hour clinical rotation, and hands-on training with actual patients. In addition, they are offering summer classes starting June 21 after a required orientation.

The students will learn infection control, the proper way to wash hands, how to use personal protective equipment (PPE), use an assistive device and other equipment.

In addition, learning personal care assistance, patient bathing, grooming, taking blood pressure, pulse, height, and weight, helping the patient with eating and drinking, and educated on any changes in a patient's condition to alert the nurse.

"There is demand for nurses aides to help the community," Powell said.

For more information about the Nurses Aide program or register, call the Fort Lupton Aims Community College Campus admission at 970-330-8008 or email at events.aims.edu or admissions@aims.edu.