The Challenge:
Presbyterian Hospital, a leading healthcare provider in the Charlotte area, employs a growing number of immigrants in its labor force. The hospital has a Patient and Community Education Director who promotes on-going education for hospital employees. The hospital saw an opportunity to provide ESL as a way of supporting their staff, serving their patients by having better speaking employees, and providing an opportunity for employees to secure better jobs.

The Solution:
In early 2001, Presbyterian Hospital contacted CPCC to investigate a possible partnership with the college to provide English classes for this ever-growing population. CPCC’s ESL department representatives met with Presbyterian Hospital and discussed several options to provide ESL classes in the most practical and economical fashion. Due to work schedules and budget constraints, classes during the workday were not feasible. The solution was to introduce LEAD and offer a once-a-week class meeting during employees lunch break.

Implementation
The administration at Presbyterian Hospital secured funds to purchase books for each employee. Employees are asked to commit to studying at home and commit to completing the thirteen-week course. As students, they watch the video during lunch breaks or check the video out from their supervisor to watch at home. Students then meet once per week with a teacher. The class is positioned between first and second shifts to accommodate students from both shifts. The hour-long class consists of 30 minutes of lunch plus 30 minutes of time that the employee is required to make up at the end of their shift. The hour-long class operates as a community of learners. Students report all at once and participate in discussions, role-plays, and grammar exercises. At the end of thirteen weeks of study, students are awarded a certificate of completion.

Role of the Student:

• Register for class
• Attend orientation
• Commit to home study and course completion
• Watch video at work, or check out to view at home
• Complete assessment and exercises
• Meet with teacher during weekly hour-long class

Role of the Teacher

• Coordinate with hospital staff to have videos accessible
• Provide student orientation and pretest
• Register students for class
• Prepare hour lesson plan and conduct class
• Correct assessments and exercises
• Maintain student folders and paperwork

Conclusion:
This joint venture between Presbyterian Hospital and CPCC has now expanded to one of Presbyterian Hospital’s satellite hospitals and has been reproduced at Carolinas Medical Center in Pineville. This style of mixing distance learning with class study offers a unique answer for employers who want to provide services for their immigrant population, but find they must stay within the confines of their budgets.