Heritage Hospital to place nurses in US, forms JV with UCH

Brian Allen, the president of United Church Homes, US, and K R Gangadharan, the director of Heritage Hospital, signed a memorandum of understanding today to form two legal entities -- UCH Heritage Healthcare (US) Inc., and UCH Heritage Healthcare India Private Limited.

Disclosing this at a press conference, Gangadharan and Allen said they had entered into a joint venture to cater to the growing need for trained medical staff in the US.

They quoted a study that there was considerable shortage of nursing staff in the US, which was likely to be around 4.5 lakh in the next two years, and over one million by the year 2010.

Allen said that the US medical profession had recognised the excellent services being rendered by the Indian nurses and were preferring them to those from other countries.

Unlike in the case of IT professionals, the nurses would be granted green cards for employment in the US. The joint venture with Heritage Hospital would address this need, he said.

Categorically stating that they would not charge any fee from the selected nurses for the training for various mandatory examinations one has to clear before seeking employment and greencard in US, they, however, said the intake for each batch would not exceed 10.

This was to ensure highly qualitative training and individualised attention to the trainees, they clarified.

Elaborating on the free training, Gangadharan said, "we (in India) have a large number of qualified nurses who have substantial clinical experience and are held in high regard the world over for their dedication. Unfortunately, most of them are not in a position to better their prospects as most international examinations are very expensive and require a command over English and skillful preparation."

UCH Heritage Healthcare India will provide the selected English speaking nurses an intensive training for the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) certification, proficiency in English and familiarisation with the United States' health standards and requirements.

On successful completion of the examination, the nurses will be assisted in processing their Green Card applications. They would be taken care of by the US venture. The nurses would be paid on par with their US colleagues.