A pair of local health care partnerships were announced last month.
One, spearheaded by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, sets up an employer-led workforce initiative to train Angelenos for careers in high-demand industries, starting with health care.
The other is a research collaboration between the Woodland Hills-based Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation and the Claremont-based Keck Graduate Institute, part of the Claremont Colleges.
The chamber-led workforce initiative, announced March 23, is in close partnership with the CEO Council, a group of about 100 chief executives of area companies that was set up by the chamber nearly five years ago to push for policies that boost the local business climate.
The Los Angeles chamber and CEO Council are together working with the Los Angeles Community College District to create targeted training programs for students at some of its nine campuses to enable them to enter high-demand industries. This program, called “A Paradigm Shift,” has been kick-started with a $350,000 donation from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
“For too many Angelenos, the route from school to a good job is still fragmented, uncertain or out of reach,” Porsha Cropper, senior program officer with the Broad Foundation, said in the announcement. “This effort will align employer needs with student ambition to create clearer, faster pathways into careers with room to grow.”
Health care target
The first industry targeted by this new program is health care. Several prominent local health care organizations have joined the effort, agreeing to provide job pipelines for students who have completed the LACCD training programs. Among them: Cedars-Sinai Health System, AltaMed Health Services, Adventist Health White Memorial, Kaiser Permanente and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
“Now more than ever, it is critical that we build a strong and sustainable pipeline of healthcare professionals who are prepared to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our patients from day one,” Michelle Gaskill-Hames, regional president of Kaiser Permanente of Southern California and Hawaii, said in the announcement.
Program organizers are still finalizing the design of the training programs and recruiting additional participants from the health care sector. The first cohorts of students aren’t expected for several months.
Research collaboration
Just two weeks earlier, on March 9, the Terasaki Institute and Claremont Graduate Institute announced their research partnership. It’s designed to accelerate biomedical innovation through joint research programs, faculty collaboration, and expanded student training opportunities.
The agreement establishes a framework to enable interdisciplinary research initiatives, reciprocal faculty affiliations, shared laboratory infrastructure, and expanded educational programs.
The partnership will allow researchers from both institutions to pursue joint grant proposals, collaborative research projects, and co-authored publications. Scientists will also gain reciprocal access to specialized research infrastructure, including laboratory space, core instrumentation, libraries, and animal research facilities.
The collaboration will support research across multiple areas of biomedical innovation, including biomaterials, cell engineering, drug delivery technologies, medical devices, and personalized medicine.
“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing scientific discovery through collaboration,” Stewart Han, president of the Terasaki Institute, said in the announcement. “By combining the complementary expertise of our institutions, we can accelerate the development of technologies that improve patient care while providing meaningful research opportunities for students and scientists,” he added.
