City, OTC receive $3M grant

The U.S. Department of Labor issued the city of Springfield’s Department of Workforce Development and Ozarks Technical Community College $3 million to provide tuition-free training and certifications in health care.

The funds will allow 372 individuals to complete training, specifically behavioral support specialists, nursing assistants and registered nurses. The America’s Promise grant through the Labor Department funds what’s known locally as Ozarks' Promise. It was one of 23 grants awarded nationwide and the only funds issued in Missouri, according to a news release.

"Several factors are creating a need for more health care services in our region, and at the core of providing those services is a growing supply of trained workers,” said Mike Peters, Mercy’s vice president of government relations in Missouri, in the release. “The America’s Promise grant is an important addition to the equation of keeping the supply equal to the growing demand.”

OTC turns away an average of 25 percent of qualified RN applicants due to limited program resources.

Other Ozarks' Promise partners include CoxHealth, the Springfield and Branson chambers of commerce, Citizens Memorial Healthcare and Burrell Behavioral Health, according to the release.

Department of Labor officials said the grants are funded by fees paid by employers to bring foreign workers to the United States under the H-1B temporary visa program.