Officials say federal money will "jumpstart" a workforce development center in Holyoke to support the region’s healthcare sector.
Dr. Alejandro Esparza-Perez, CEO of Holyoke Health Center, says a planned “Regional Health Professions Education and Training Center” next to the community health center would help address a shrinking healthcare workforce in western Massachusetts.
“This center will serve as a hub to train the next generation of healthcare providers and healthcare workers and ensure that our communities have access to the highest quality of care that they deserve,” Esparza-Perez said Wednesday, Oct. 16, during an event celebrating more funding for the project.
“We are proud to celebrate a $1 million investment to jumpstart the future of health career training here in Holyoke,” said Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who was in town to tout the congressionally directed spending secured by the state delegation.
Officials have not yet put a final price tag on the effort. Esparza-Perez says the project is still in the planning phases, with a goal of converting three undeveloped floors into learning environments, with at least one expected to be completed by 2026.
It also involves redeveloping the 19th-century Steiger building across from city hall downtown.
“We're hoping, with some of the funding that we have and some of the funding that we’re still procuring, that we'll be able to have at least the second floor of the building fully developed by 2026 - that’s our goal,” he told WAMC.
The project also comes at a time when the state’s healthcare industry is seeing high turnover rates.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Center for Health Information and Analysis, the turnover rate for registered nurses in Massachusetts is around 29 percent.
Esparza-Perez says the new center would support workforce needs across the healthcare industry.
“We plan to bring programs [focused] around medical assistants, dental assistants, pharmacy technicians, front desk and community health workers, behavioral health-types of positions,” he noted.
Also Wednesday, officials toured the Holyoke Health Center, a non-profit that serves about 24,000 patients a year.
Holyoke City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti says the center's wraparound healthcare services are vital to the region. She also sees the center as key to the revitalization of downtown Holyoke.
“We are very lucky to have this institution right in our downtown, for people who need it most and might not have access to transportation and live nearby,” she told WAMC. “But also, I think of this as a great opportunity for economic development as well, because when we can rehab a building that's been sitting vacant for decades, that's right across from city hall, and we can get people in our community, it helps support the ongoing efforts that are also happening in the downtown to have it be a great place to live, work and have fun.”
HHC hopes to enroll its first students by early 2027.
