In a historic event, MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis joined Chairperson J. Prospero De Vera III of the Commission on Higher Education in the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Health held at Malacañang Palace yesterday, September 28. 

Dr. Agrupis, along with other heads of higher education institutions, witnessed the formalization of the deal between CHED and DOH headed by Secretary Teodoro Herbosa to implement the Nurse Workforce Complementation and Upskilling Program for Clinical Care Associates (CCAs). 

The program seeks to address the country’s pressing shortage on human health resource by allowing fresh nursing graduates, non-passers or nursing graduates working in other industries to be employed as CCAs in healthcare facilities. 

The event was conducted before Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., who previously issued a directive to CHED and DOH to address the continuing need to improve the health manpower needed for the implementation of the Universal Health Care law. 

The MOU stipulates that CCAs will be employed on a one-year contract and assigned to "important non-core functions." In addition, aspiring healthcare professionals can be employed while undertaking their reviews for the nursing licensure examination. 

MMSU is among the participating HEIs in the country for the nurse workforce program. They agreed to develop the program design on the conduct of the structured review didactics for the CCAs, and cooperate with the hospital to fully implement the program. 

The program came into being when the Private Sector Advisory Council Healthcare and Jobs Sectors, CHED, and the DOH moved to formulate solutions to the shortage of health workforce. Recently, the health department and the commission signed a Joint Administrative Order on Implementing Guidelines for the program. (StratCom)