Los Angeles Allied Health Collaborative
Submitted By: Michele Stiehl
Los Angeles Regional Adult Education Consortium
Website: laraec.org
Type of Practice: Learner Transition
Program Area(s): ESL / EL Civics / Citizenship, CTE / Workforce Prep / Pre-apprenticeship
Region: Los Angeles Basin
Consortia Involved: Los Angeles Regional Adult Education Consortium
The Program of Practice
Comprehensive Program Overview:
The Los Angeles Allied Health Collaborative is a regional initiative that brings together adult schools, community colleges, and workforce partners to strengthen and expand allied health education pathways across the region. The Collaborative is a twice annual in-person event that provides a day of learning, networking, sharing resources, and developing strategies that support both program growth and student success.
Key activities, speakers, and sessions of the Collaborative include:
• Supporting the development and implementation of allied health programs and curriculum
• Sharing effective practices for supporting English Language Learners (ELLs) instructionally and financially.
• Collaborating on outreach and recruitment strategies to underserved communities.
• Networking to address common challenges like clinical site access and seamless pathways from enrollment to employment.
This ongoing partnership serves as a vital platform for collaboration, innovation, and equity in allied health education, working to ensure that more adult learners—particularly those from historically underrepresented communities—can access and complete high-quality training programs that lead to in-demand healthcare careers. This project directly addresses 4 of the CAEP state priorities including, Equity (providing and expanding access to all learners), Leadership (leveraging resources), learner transitions (supporting students from registration to job placement), and program development (building robust allied health care programs aligned to industry).
The Problem(s) of Practice:
As a recipient of the ELL (English Language Learner) Healthcare Pathway Grant, LARAEC was challenged with how to best leverage resources and collaborate in expanding programs and supports in a very short time frame. Allied health programs across the Los Angeles region face persistent and interconnected challenges that can limit student access, program growth, and workforce alignment. While there is strong support for regional collaboration, programs operate at varying stages of maturity and struggle with systemic barriers including limited clinical training opportunities, student financial and logistical obstacles, and a need for coordinated strategies for supporting English Language Learners (ELLs). Additionally, programs face difficulties in recruiting qualified faculty, implementing new pathways, tracking student outcomes, and conducting effective outreach—particularly to underserved communities. Without a structured and sustained collaborative approach to address these shared challenges, allied health program staff may risk continued fragmentation and inequitable outcomes for adult learners.
To better understand the needs, challenges, and priorities of allied health programs across the region, the Los Angeles Allied Health Collaborative conducted interviews with 11 allied health administrators, program leads, and instructors, and distributed a pre-event survey to participating stakeholders.
Key Themes from Interviews:
• Strong Support for Collaboration: Participants expressed enthusiasm for the Collaborative’s mission, noting the value of having a wider range of voices in the room and the opportunity to engage in super-regional dialogue. They appreciated that this Collaborative focuses specifically on allied health.
• Program Variation Across Districts: Interviewees noted that allied health programs are at varying stages of development across districts, from newly launched to well-established, highlighting the need for differentiated support and shared learning.
• Common Challenges and Aspirations Identified:
o Clinical Training Bottlenecks: Difficulty securing enough clinical hours remains a major barrier to program expansion and student completion.
o Student Barriers: Fees, required physical exams, vaccinations, licensing costs, and uniform requirements were frequently cited as obstacles for students—especially those from low-income or immigrant backgrounds.
o Supporting ELL Students: Many participants emphasized the importance of strategies to support English Language Learners, particularly in overcoming language and testing barriers.
o Pathway Clarity: There is a need for clearer program pathways and transitional (“until”) activities that help students bridge gaps between educational milestones.
o Policy and Legislative Concerns: Some participants pointed to the need for changes in policy to better support program growth and sustainability.
o Event and Activity Coordination: A desire for better coordination and more structured Collaborative activities was also noted.
Survey Results:
Prior to the event, participants completed a survey identifying their top areas of concern. The results revealed widespread challenges across key areas:
• Meeting Student Needs:
o 86% were highly or moderately concerned about meeting students’ instructional needs
o 78% cited financial barriers for students as a major concern
o 81% were concerned about implementing new pathways
o 78% noted challenges in tracking student data and program outcomes
• Program Operations:
o 81% reported difficulty in securing clinical training sites
o 76% highlighted challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff and instructors
o 84% cited outreach and marketing as an ongoing struggle
• Interest Areas:
o Participants expressed the most interest in networking (77%), sharing strategies (69%), small group discussions (57%), and developing new pathways (54%)
The Response
Driven by feedback from the field, LARAEC assembled an advisory team of 10–12 administrators, teachers, and support staff to guide the planning of two major events during the 2024–25 program year. This team provided valuable expertise in allied health, helping to shape conference content and recommending facilitators and presenters. LARAEC staff supported the effort by coordinating event logistics, marketing and outreach to surrounding consortia and districts, managing registration, and hosting the events. The goal of the Collaborative is to sustain momentum and support not only throughout the ELL Healthcare Pathways Grant period but also well beyond. In addition to grant funded pathways, LARAEC is committed to providing support to all allied health pathways and programs. LARAEC plans to continue hosting two annual events (in fall and spring), along with maintaining a partner webpage to share resources, tools, and collaborative contacts.
The first two events featured a combination of networking opportunities, general sessions, breakout presentations, and guided discussions on key topics, including:
• Scaffolding instruction for allied health teachers and supporting students through IET, VESL, and introduction to health careers programs
• Panel discussion on common pitfalls and successes in starting allied health programs
• IET and co-enrollment models
• Measuring success in allied health programs (employment and earnings tracking)
• Starting a program from scratch (featuring the National Healthcareers Association)
• Pathways and next steps for students
• Establishing clinical site partnerships and agreements
• Student support strategies, including financial assistance
The Unique Features of the Program
These events offer several unique features shaped by field input and participant interest. From the outset, LARAEC was committed to creating a super-regional event that would engage districts across the greater Los Angeles area. Recognizing that many allied health programs have only a small number of instructors within a district or consortia, expanding the event’s geographic scope allowed more allied health staff to connect with peers for meaningful networking and collaboration. LARAEC also prioritized accessibility by removing barriers to participation—hosting the event on a Saturday to avoid disrupting classroom instruction and making it free to all attendees. To enrich the experience, the event included a diverse group of allied health exhibitors, including publishers, software providers, certification agencies, and equipment vendors, allowing for hands-on learning and direct engagement with industry partners.
Beyond the event itself, several project elements support ongoing cross-district collaboration. LARAEC introduced a "Need It, Got It" list, where districts can share the allied health pathways they currently offer, those in development, and contact information—making it easier for participants to connect when seeking ideas or support. A dedicated team is also compiling an up-to-date equipment list to help guide the outfitting of classrooms and labs, serving as a resource for districts launching or expanding programs. Looking ahead, LARAEC will launch an Allied Health Collaborative webpage to centralize key resources and tools, further strengthening regional collaboration and program development.
This program directly addresses several high-priority areas identified through our registration survey. Key topics aligned with areas of moderate to high concern among respondents, including securing clinical sites (81%), meeting students’ instructional (86%) and financial needs (78%), tracking program success (78%), and implementing new pathways (81%). The event also reflected strong interest in extended networking opportunities (78%), sharing strategies (69%), and scaffolding curriculum for English Language Learners (49%). LARAEC remains committed to ensuring that future event content continues to be driven by the needs and input of the field.
The Outcome
The event was a great success, attracting 72 participants at its inaugural fall session and 93 at the spring session. Approximately half of the attendees came from within the consortium, while the rest represented surrounding districts and consortia. In addition to LARAEC’s four K-12 adult programs and 9 community colleges, this event also included 22 outside adult education programs and five community colleges covering Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. Participants included teachers (32%), administrators, program leads, and directors (20%), out-of-classroom advisors and faculty (10%), ESL support faculty (8%), and other support staff (30%). When asked what they most appreciated about the event, participants highlighted the opportunity to network (94%), access to information about starting new programs (75%), and the chance to share strategies (72%). Most attendees felt the event offered a well-balanced mix of networking, presentations, sharing sessions, and exhibitor time. Notably, 100% of participants at both events said they would attend again.
Qualitative feedback described the event as “very helpful to the teaching community” and “a great way to connect with people doing the same job at other institutions to see what we all do differently.” One attendee shared that the event enabled a “much deeper and easier connection with colleagues.” Exhibitors also valued the chance to engage directly with instructional leaders and learn more about AH programs and classroom needs. Looking ahead, participants expressed interest in further exploring topics such as tracking student progress (78%), meeting students’ instructional (67%) and financial (62%) needs, and improving outreach and marketing efforts (60%). LARAEC looks forward to continuing to provide this valuable opportunity for AH program staff and developers.
This program is easily replicable in other regions. LARAEC recommends collaborating with regional teams made up of multiple consortia. A key strength of the event has been its ability to expand participation beyond local consortia, fostering collaboration and idea-sharing across numerous districts. While organizing a statewide Allied Health event is possible, LARAEC intentionally kept the focus local to ensure that all interested staff and teachers could attend. A regional approach also supports valuable discussions about potential clinical sites and workforce partnerships specific to the area.