[5 min read]
In this article:
- The Theresa Jane Healthcare Careers Program began in 2022 with a mission is to increase opportunities for women.
- This innovative program provides job training and mentorship for underserved women who aspire to a career in medicine but face barriers like homelessness, poverty, and trauma.
- Beautiful became a Providence Swedish caregiver with support from the Theresa Jane program. Read her story and learn how generous support from the Theresa Jane Fund is changing women's lives.
When Beautiful arrives at work each day and steps through the sliding glass doors of Providence Swedish Cancer Institute, she feels a sense of pride and belonging that she hadn’t believed was possible just a few years ago.
Beautiful, at left in photo above with program training manager Eunice Chua, is a research assistant at the cancer institute and the first trainee to join the Theresa Jane Healthcare Careers Program two years ago. This innovative program provides job training and mentorship for underserved women who aspire to a career in medicine but face significant barriers like homelessness, poverty, and trauma.
When she first joined the program, Beautiful was struggling to find stable housing and a reliable job. She wanted to have a meaningful professional career, but assumed such roles required a college degree, which she never had the chance to pursue. With personalized support from the Theresa Jane Healthcare Careers Program, Beautiful was hired as a research assistant supporting clinical trials at Providence Swedish Cancer Institute.
“Life changed for me after joining Providence Swedish and the Theresa Jane program,” says Beautiful. “It became more hopeful, and I put more thought into the things I did and how I wanted to live my life. It put me on a trajectory for success that I didn’t think I would reach before.”
How one idea can change lives
The Theresa Jane Healthcare Careers Program began in 2022 thanks to the Theresa Jane Fund, and its mission is to increase opportunities for women. The fund’s longtime support of Elizabeth Gregory Home, a Seattle shelter for women experiencing homelessness, made it the right organization to recognize an opportunity to address two issues in the community with one innovative solution.
At Elizabeth Gregory Home, there were inspiring, resilient women overcoming significant personal challenges who faced daunting barriers when seeking professional jobs. Meanwhile, Providence Swedish, like many health care institutions, had been struggling to fill critical entry-level positions during the COVID pandemic. A solution for both problems came together when Theresa Jane’s executive director, Amy Johnson, met with Providence Swedish Cancer Institute leadership.
“The cancer institute had empty positions,” Johnson recalls. “I knew people who wanted jobs.”
Thanks to Theresa Jane Fund’s generous support, Providence Swedish has partnered with Elizabeth Gregory Home, Jubilee Women’s Center, and Treehouse for Kids to create the Theresa Jane Healthcare Careers Program.
An innovative solution
Program participants receive personalized support and job training for at least three weeks before interviewing for entry-level positions at the cancer institute, like scheduling coordinator or research assistant.
The program’s support extends beyond job skills. When trainees apply, they get help with building a resume, doing mock interviews, and finding professional attire. The program also assists with transportation and food security.--
“The wonderful thing about this program is that we can individualize our support to make sure each trainee has what they need to be successful,” says program training manager Eunice Chua, who coordinates support at every stage of the process.
Program participants also receive benefits — like health insurance and access to mental health care — as soon as they start training. After they’ve been in their position for six months, they have access to additional growth opportunities, including education benefits.
Supporting the whole person
Over the years, the Theresa Jane Healthcare Careers Program has developed into a community for the trainees and their colleagues. Once a month, all the trainees gather to share a meal and celebrate holidays, program graduations, and other special occasions. Chua remembers giving a birthday gift to one trainee who said it was the first birthday present she’d ever received.
“This program isn’t just about giving someone a job,” Chua says. “We build a community. That is so important because some of our trainees don’t have any family or friends they can lean on, so they lean on each other.”
Chua also supports trainees’ emotional needs as they enter the professional field, often for the first time. She says many of the women who join the program feel afraid or insecure, especially if they have been mistreated in the past.
“They all have their own story, their own trauma, and their own heartaches that they’ve been through,” Chua says. “The professional world is so different from anything they’ve ever experienced, and they need to have someone they can trust. Sometimes, you just need one person to believe in you; I try to be that person.”
“Providence Swedish offers a safe, supportive environment where women who have experienced domestic violence, homelessness, or other trauma can rebuild their lives. Through mentorship and skill-building opportunities, they gain confidence, develop new abilities, and rediscover their belief in themselves.” — Barbara Kollar, Administrative Director, Providence Swedish Cancer Institute
Potential for growth
Six women have graduated from the Theresa Jane program so far. With ongoing community support, the program could grow to help many more women at other Providence Swedish hospitals, such as Edmonds and Issaquah.
“This program would not be possible without the help of our donors,” Chua says. “They are funding more than just a job. They’re funding confidence. They’re creating opportunities. Our trainees have big dreams, and donations help make those dreams possible.”
Thanks to Providence Swedish and the Theresa Jane program, Beautiful says she believes in herself and knows she can succeed.
“It’s so much more than just a program,” Beautiful says. “It’s a life-changing thing. It’s opened doors for me, and it will open doors for many other people who want to succeed in their careers in life.”