Photo by Nancy Royden. Lori Hammond, director of community relations for Amerigroup RealSolutions in Hanover, seated, watches as U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin speaks Saturday at Prince George’s Community College in Largo during the Health Care Jobs Expo.

Published on: Thursday, May 26, 2011

By Nancy Royden

Hundreds of job seekers and approximately 50 employers converged Saturday at Prince George’s Community College in Largo for the Health Care Jobs Expo sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin.

The senator stopped by the job fair to meet with job seekers, educational and business representatives and state employees who assist people with their resumes and are called “resume doctors.”

“Thanks for taking charge of our future,” Cardin said from a podium to those at the event.

Cardin called the health care industry a field of growth and said people came to the job fair to give themselves an opportunity to connect with training and a wide array of job possibilities.

Photo by Nancy Royden. Left, Stephen R. Gallison, of the State of Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and right, Nancy Fink, of the same agency, meet Saturday with U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin during the Health Care Job Expo.

Among the job seekers were Holly Riley, of Hyattsville, and her sister, Rosa Riley, of Upper Marlboro.

Holly said she is optimistic about the future and takes a positive attitude while seeking employment in laboratory research.

The sisters both took advantage of having “resume doctors” Nancy J. Fink and Stephen R. Gallison look over their resumes to offer tips on improving the vital documents.

Cardin said the health care industry is expected to grow and so will the demand for employees.

“By 2014, the health care reform law will provide access to health care for 30 million Americans who currently have no health insurance,” he said. “That need will translate into a growing demand for jobs, and the Health Care Expo will help ensure that we have the nurses and health care providers in place to meet the need Americans will have for health care services.”

Sandra Dunnington, vice president for academic affairs at PGCC, said the job fair helped job seekers check out possibilities for career opportunities.

“I am delighted to be part of this information session to promote health careers in Maryland. In the near future, Maryland and the nation will be facing significant shortages of health care workers, and this event will assist Maryland in getting a head start on filling those positions in a timely manner so that the citizens of Maryland continue to receive the highest possible level of care,” Dunnington said prior to the job expo.

Sherlene Ferguson, regional recruiter for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the Peace Corps, said the job expo was a super experience for her organization.

“It’s a win-win,” she said.

Ferguson said she sometimes has to dispel the opinion that the Peace Corps is only for people right out of college. The oldest volunteer is 82 years old.

“Lots of people thought they were too old for the program,” she said. “Plenty of people came by and wanted to know more about Peace Corps. It was a well-diversified group. There were a lot of nice, diverse applicants.”

Some of the duties people with health care backgrounds do for the Peace Corps include teaching basic health and nutrition, teaching HIV/AIDS prevention and working with those who have diabetes or high blood pressure.

It is not the goal of the Peace Corps to take jobs from local people. Rather, it is to supplement the workers already in an area, Ferguson said.

Some of the employers and educational institutions represented at the job expo included: the Anne Arundel Medical Center, Children’s National Medical Center, CVS Pharmacy, Kool Smiles Dentistry, the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare, the Maryland Department of Aging, Prince George’s Community College, the National Naval Medical Center, Genesis Healthcare, Edwards Healthcare Associates and Doctor’s Community Hospital.