Student working with a patient in a healthcare lab

Health Care Assistant

The Healthcare Assistant microcredential prepares you for entry into a wide range of allied health care and patient care experience, and gain the necessary knowledge and skills to become a personal care aide (PCA), home health aide (HHA) and certified nurse aide (CNA).

These courses, ALH 102 and ALH 103, are approved through the NYS Office of the Professions and enable you to obtain a wide range of healthcare training for employment in private homes, nursing home assisted living sites and other healthcare provider organizations.

Offered at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Saratoga.

Students who complete ALH 102 will be eligible to receive PCA certification and HHA certification. These are available as part of the course instruction, at no additional cost.

Students who complete ALH 103 will be eligible to sit for the CNA certification, after course completion. Cost of the exam is $115.

This microcredential:

  • Comprises 15 credits
  • Can be completed in one semester;
  • Costs $243 per credit, for a total of $3,645, plus textbooks and college fees

These credits are stackable to:

 

Healthcare Assistant (MHCA)

Catalog: 2026-2027 Effective Date: 9/1/2026

 

CR

COURSE

COURSE TITLE

PREREQUISITE

6

ALH 102

Healthcare Assistant: PCA and HHA

 

9

ALH 103

Healthcare Assistant: CNA

 

15

Minimum credits required to complete

EXAM

ALH 102 exams part of course completion; Optional NYS CNA certification, available on campus

GPA

2.0 Combined