Getting a new lease on their education. Dozens of former Stone Academy students went through orientation Thursday at a new school to finish their training.
When Stone Academy closed suddenly last year, nursing students felt they were left out to dry with an uncertain future. That included Igancia Antunes.
“Very devastating. Very hurtful. Because it's like my life just shattered in front of me,” she said.
More than a year later, she now has a chance to finish her education, attending orientation at Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers in their teach-out program.
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“I was excited. I was thrilled and I said I'm going to jump on it because this is an opportunity,” Antunes said.
She is one of 39 former Stone Academy students attending Griffin Hospital School as part of the first cohort. School officials say it was essential to reach out to the students for a variety of reasons.
“We're at a point in Connecticut where we need nurses and secondly, it was the right thing to do to offer a solution for the displaced students,” said Amanda Bell, executive dean at Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers.
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Griffin Hospital says the school will provide the learning the students need in order to become licensed practical nurses.
“Collectively all of that in a 10-month program will provide them the education and the foundation that they need to be successful to sit for their exam,” Bell said.
Antunes says she’s grateful her career in nursing is back on track.
“I thank them from the bottom of my heart to take us on and be able to finish. So, there is hope at the end of the rainbow,” she said.
