SURPRISE, AZ — More than 10 aspiring certified nursing assistants say they were just 30 clinical hours away from completing their training when MedStar Academy in Peoria abruptly closed, leaving them without certifications and searching for answers about what happens next.
Some of the students are from Surprise and say they had already completed most of the program, including coursework, final exams and part of their required clinical training.
“At this point, I don’t think we just deserve our money back, we also deserve like stuff back from all that time we spent,” CNA student Daelynn Hull said.
Surprise resident Elizabeth Vasquez said her class was nearly finished when the closure occurred.
“We completed the classwork, we did our finals, we would go in additional days to study and to practice our skills for our exams, and then we completed a whole day of clinical dates,” Vasquez said.
“We only had three days left.”
MedStar Academy is a private vocational school in Peoria. The school is described as non-accredited, with individual programs licensed or approved through applicable state agencies.
The affected students began their CNA program in August and said they paid thousands of dollars to attend. On October 8, before they could finish their remaining clinical training, students received an email informing them that the school was “closed until further notice.”
“The program was roughly about $2,000, and we did pay that upfront,” student Natalie Jaracuaro said.
Students say they have since struggled to reach anyone at the academy.
ABC15 called a phone number for MedStar Academy but received an automated message stating the number was no longer in service. Emails sent to the school received responses indicating mailboxes were either full or not being monitored, and the academy's website was also unavailable.
With no answers from the school, students turned to the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
“The first thing they said was that they can’t help us because MedStar never even told them that they’re shutdown,” CNA student Amanda Harris said.
The Board of Nursing later told ABC15 that its immediate focus is finding a way for the displaced students to complete their education without losing the work they have already done.
In a statement Wednesday, the board said:
"Our immediate priority at the Board of Nursing is ensuring that MedStar Academy's displaced students are not penalized by this sudden closure. Our staff is working with a partner institution to explore a transfer pathway so these students can finish their training and earn their certifications without starting over."
A transfer pathway could provide a resolution for students who say they want more than a tuition refund. After months of coursework, studying and clinical training, they want the opportunity to finish what they started and begin working in the nursing field.
For now, however, students are still waiting for details about where and how they could complete their remaining hours.
“Our lives are put on hold because of their poor planning, and it’s just not OK,” Hull said.
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