CNA School of Calhoun opens on Battlefield Parkway

Vera Wolfe lost a son in an auto accident. Dustin was a sophomore at Gordon Central High School when he passed away.

Then, she almost lost her nephew in a bicycle accident.

For those two reasons, the Ringgold resident left the accounting world to enter the medical instruction pathway later in life. She recently opened CNA Nursing School of Calhoun in Fort Oglethorpe in the former Department of Labor building.

“My nephew wrote a book called ‘Tour de Life’ about going from a coma to competition,” said Wolfe. “They told him he could never do anything again, but he proved them wrong and still competes in local bicycle competitions.”

Her nephew is famous cyclist Saul Raisin, of Dalton. The accident that nearly claimed his life occurred in the Tour de France in 2006. The effects led him to a coma, substantial body damage and a traumatic brain injury.

Wolfe was so inspired by her nephew’s recovery that she wanted to be able to help people recover too. Through watching his battle, she realized how important it is to have plenty of support staff for doctors in the medical field, she said. Through the annual Dustin Coates Memorial Scholarship, she not only memorializes her son, but also assists students from area high schools in achieving their Certified Nursing Assistant certificate at her school.

“The school is new to the area, but we are the second largest in the state in Calhoun,” said Wolfe, who started CNA School of Calhoun in 2007. Since that time, the Calhoun campus has trained thousands for the medical field, averaging 600 students per year.

“We put a satellite school here to help people in this area,” Wolfe said.

Originally from Calhoun, she now resides in Ringgold and said she realized the need for a C.N.A. school in Catoosa County. Local technical colleges that don’t offer C.N.A. classes often refer nursing students to C.N.A. school before enrolling them in nursing school, she said.

Some students with bachelor’s degrees in other fields also enroll in the four- to six-week C.N.A. program to try their hand at the medical field, she added.

The new location features two classrooms, three practice patient rooms, offices and a common area.

“The No. 1 job in health care right now is a C.N.A. job,” said Wolfe, who taught K-12 before going into accounting and then transitioning to instruct at the technical college level. “Some R.N. programs require you to get a C.N.A. first.”

CNA School of Calhoun can be reached at 706-861-2651 or cnanursingschool@bellsouth.net. To learn more, find “CNA Nursing School of Calhoun” Facebook.