Humanitarian Efforts

Military Spouses Find Employment Despite Tough Economy

MEDIA CONTACT: Cameron Loflin , 801-812-4121, cameron@careerstep.com

Military Spouses Find Employment Despite Tough Economy

Operation Life Transformed Invites Career Step to Award Training Program

Presidential Yacht Backdrop for Military Spouse Award Ceremony

WASHINGTON D.C., October 7, 2008 – Military spouses and war-wounded caregivers face unique challenges in obtaining training and employment due to residence mobility and the need to work from home in order to care for wounded veterans.

Operation Life Transformed (OLT), a nonprofit organization supporting military spouses and war-wounded caregivers with education and employment resources, partnered with Career Step to provide online medical transcription and medical coding training and placement services. The partnership comes with specific interest from both military spouses and war-wounded caregivers, or those who care for wounded veterans. Referring to the gravity of the situation, Maureen T. Koetz, OLT, said, “We have over 30,000 combat-wounded to deal with and 15,000 right now needing to transition out of the military.”

The 2008 Department of Defense Report on Military Spouse Education and Employment says, “Most military spouses are in the labor market, i.e., they have a job or are looking for employment. Military wives on average earn $3 less per hour than their civilian look-alikes and unemployment rate is three times as high as civilian spouses.…only about 10 percent of military wives stay in the same home for five years,….”

In celebration of awarding their 100th training scholarship since beginning operations 18 months ago, OLT presented six training program scholarships to deserving military families in an award ceremony that took place on September 17, 2008, on the Presidential Yacht Sequoia in Washington, D.C.  During the award ceremony Tania Mercurio, OLT, stated, “We currently have 743 spouses on our waiting list. We average four new applicants a day. So there’s clearly a need for what it is we are doing….43% of the numbers coming to us are moms and dads.”

At the event, Congresswoman Kay Granger of the Texas 12th District said, while referring to OLT, “There are people [who say] what can I do? And, with the very best intentions some want to do and some [go and] do.”

Bringing the issue close to home, Mercurio said, “The last thing we want is a soldier who is fighting for his life to get on the phone and find out that the washing machine’s broken and no way of repairing it.”

OLT realized the advantages of a medical transcription career early on. “It’s a wonderful career for our spouses. They can go state-to-state; they can even go globally. It is the perfect career for the military spouse and the war-wounded caregiver,” said Mercurio, OLT. She continued, “Our first graduate was a Career Step spouse, Teresa…She graduated in April and went into direct employment. So, it’s been a successful union.”

Career Step, LLC, based in Springville, Utah, is “happy just to be involved with OLT,” says Jill Tanner, Military Program Specialist at Career Step. Tanner is inspired by the mission of OLT and believes there is much to be done as the lives of more military families are changed forever by the aftermath of war. “This is just the beginning of a very beneficial relationship between OLT, Career Step, and military families across the nation,” says Tanner.

The medical transcription profession and the employment needs of military spouses appear to have a strong future together as organizations such as OLT and Career Step work to help those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

About Career Step

Career Step is the nation’s leading provider of online medical transcription and medical coding training, placing over 85% of graduates in a career within two months of graduation. With a proven and proprietary online education platform, Career Step is poised to duplicate its success in allied healthcare markets worldwide. Visit http://www.careerstep.com.

About Operation Life Transformed

Operation Life Transformed was created to enable war-wounded caregivers and military spouses to find job placement, flexible business models, or participate in training and educational programs in fields that readily fit around medical schedules, deployment, disabilities, future rehabilitation, and transitioning, to create a portable lifestyle for the military family. Visit http://www.lifetransformed.org.

© 2008 Career Step Media Center.