Mayor Daley Announces Healthcare Initiative
Addressing the need for an increasingly skilled workforce in Chicago's healthcare industry – as well as the demand for more and better jobs in the city – Mayor Richard M. Daley will announce the launch of an innovative program, "Building a Career Ladder in Healthcare" to 13 Chicago-area hospitals.

Known as School at Work, the initiative is funded by: the Chicago Department of Community Development; SERCO, Inc. (specifically, Central States SER); and three Chicago foundations — Eleanor Foundation; the Steans Family Foundation; and the Saint Anthony Hospital Foundation. The new citywide program replicates a model launched at Saint Anthony Hospital in 2008 with seed funding from the three foundations.

"Building a Career Ladder In Healthcare" is a career development program for entry-level workers in the healthcare industry. The two-course, 32-week program – at no cost to employees – features on-site instruction offered both before and after work. The goal: to help employees advance in their career paths, prepare for college and maximize their workplace potential. (Every student who completed the first session of School at Work training at Saint Anthony Hospital was admitted to City of Chicago's Wilbur Wright College.)