ICA Update
Top image: First CNA Class; Bottom Image: Second CNA Class
high quality of care given to elderly
residents. Lisa Graham, principal of
Immaculate Conception Academy,
added that the Jewish Home’s
“philosophy matches our school’s
culture of service to others.”
At the home, the teens began to
care for patients under Jech’s careful
supervision.
“I was nervous, but ready for it,”
said Raul, whose Cristo Rey work
assignment is prepping and coding
DNA at Five Prime Therapeutics, a
clinical-stage biotech company.
The teens’ first patients were
predominantly Russian Jews, most
with limited English.
“To communicate with them, we
had to be very cautious of our facial
expressions and hand movements,”
said 17-year-old Cynthia Ruiz, also part
of the first cohort. “By interacting with
them every Saturday, I was able to
gain their trust.”
Raul recalled one elderly woman
who would attend the regular
Saturday afternoon dance activity, but
remained on the sidelines because
she couldn’t stand by herself. “I’d sit
with her and she seemed lonely. So I
got up and I danced with her.”
Some of the required skills, such
as assisting patients with toilet needs,
were initially daunting for the teens.
“I told them to have a straightahead attitude, to be nonchalant.
This is how we do this,” said Jech.
The students were “quite amazing”
in their ability to overcome their
squeamishness, she added.
After completing 125 hours of
clinical practice at the Jewish Home,
the teens sat for the state licensing
exam. All passed. One teen has
already secured a job at the Jewish
Home, which she’ll start as soon
as she graduates from Immaculate
Conception Academy in June. Her
salary will help pay for college, a
goal that Jech and the school’s
administrators have for all the
students.
CNA
“It has never been our intent to be
a vocational school,” said Graham.
“We’ve always seen this as a path
to postsecondary education. It gives
the girls a solid foundation for future
study.” Raul wants to be a doctor and
Ruiz a pediatric nurse practitioner.
The second cohort of juniors, who
completed their studies last summer,
is now busy