Ascend’s business National Healthcareer Association (NHA) partners with allied health education programs, organizations and employers across the nation to award more than 500,000 allied health certifications. It offers eight nationally accredited exams, certification preparation and study materials; industry- leading outcomes based data analytics, as well as ongoing professional development and continuing education for certification holders.
- NHA was founded in New Jersey, but it also had a DC location. At the time NHA was acquired by ATI (before Ascend existed), this was the logo:
- Joanne DiChiara is the longest NHA tenured employee, having been with us for 10-1/2 years.
- Some of our first marketing swag included NHA bumper stickers, band aids, scrubs, lab coats and even branded POPCORN (it said “Pop on over to our website!”). Things have come a long way since then!
- NHA story: Jon Brandt was the founder of NHA. He was unhappy with care his grandmother received while in the hospital and specifically while having blood drawn. He wanted to ensure that others could receive better care from front-line health care workers. Jon wanted to establish standards by ensuring that frontline staff meet and maintain national competency levels!
- Legend has it, NHA survived a fire that consumed half its office space in the early days.
- Similar to ATI’s early days, NHA staff members used to take turns printing NHA exams in-office for distribution to customers.
- NHA currently offers certifications in the following:
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)
- Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT)
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA)
- Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
- Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS)
- Certified EKG Technician (CET)
- Certified Electronic Health Record Specialist (CEHRS)
- Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A)
- NHA currently has 63 employees based in Leawood and across the country!
- In 2015, NHA awarded its 500,000th certification!
- Earlier this spring, NHA released its first publication of access™, a one-of-a-kind resource with original research created specifically for the allied health community.