(Joplin, MO) – The Joplin Regional Alliance for Health (JRAH) is committed to collaborations that help expand and support the health care workforce. Franklin Technology Center Adult Education’s Dental Assistant training has been revised to make the training course more accessible to individuals and to help meet the continually growing demand for entry level dental assistants needed by dental offices in our region. The changes include:
- The course has been shortened from a nine-month offering to a 25-week course that can be offered twice each year.
- The course offering is now hybrid with online course work and onsite clinical practice located at the Missouri Southern State University’s clinical classrooms each week.
- Twice as many students can complete this training each year as there will now be classes offered twice each year. The first cohort begins August 6, 2025, and enrollments are open now. The second new class is scheduled to begin on January 7, 2026.
Students who successfully complete the 25-week course can gain their National Entry Level Dental Assistant certification (NELDA) from the Dental Assisting National Board.
“This comprehensive program combines classroom instruction, hands-on laboratory experience, and clinical practice to ensure students develop the knowledge, technical skills, and professionalism required to thrive in a dental office environment. The revised program structure allows individuals to balance their education with personal and professional responsibilities — while also providing dental offices with a convenient option to upskill new hires,” states Nathan Fent, director of Adult Education at Franklin Technology Center.
Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) is supporting the Dental Assistant training program by making its dental clinical practice areas available to students in the program and revised the schedule to match the new schedule offered within the program.
“As part of our commitment to advancing the health and workforce needs of the region, Missouri Southern is pleased to collaborate with Franklin Technology Center to support their Dental Assistant training course. We can achieve more by working together,” said Dr. Dean Van Galen, president of MSSU.
“It’s wonderful to see the collaboration in action. This revised program will allow us to train twice as many students each year, helping bring people into full-time healthcare jobs that are in demand. Franklin Technology Center immediately responded to the need to train more workers, and MSSU rapidly supported the program, adjusting its dental clinical practice schedules to accommodate training needs,” said Lori Worthington, JRAH executive director.
Enrollment for the August 6 session is open now. A high school diploma or equivalent is required to enroll in the program. Adults can enroll directly through Franklin Technology Center. For questions about the program, please contact Nathan Fent, Director of Adult Education at Franklin Technology Center, at 417.680.0004, ext. 2061 or at NathanFent@joplinschools.org.
About Joplin Regional Alliance for Health:
The Joplin Regional Alliance for Health (JRAH) works with community entrepreneurs, businesses, health care stakeholders, and educational institutions to develop and execute strategic plans and programming to fortify long-term growth of the Joplin region’s health care and health sciences sectors. This includes recruiting and educating new entrants into health care careers as well as retention of experience health care workers within the region, and new products and services development to maximize economic development opportunities for the Joplin region across the four states it serves.
Reference:
Lori Worthington, Executive Director
Joplin Regional Alliance for Health
816.507.2576
lori@jrah.org
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