SDA Helps Lansing-Based ‘Lab Girls’ Make Getting Into the Healthcare Field Much Easier

A lot of young people balk at the idea of getting into a medical profession because, plainly put, it is [often times, at least] extremely daunting and financially challenging. But when Helena Simms opened the doors to Lab Girls Training Academy in 2020, she knew she was rewriting what a pathway into the medical field could look like.

“A lot of people think if you want to work in the medical field, you have to be a nurse. And if you’re not a nurse, you don’t make any money. But that’s just not true,” Simms said. After working as a phlebotomist for over 15 years and experiencing herself just how unbelievably hard it was to break into the field without support, she decided to change that. “The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association reviews thousands of bills and amendments annually on behalf of manufacturers from across the state. In 2025 alone, the IMA reviewed nearly 7,000 bills and amendments while taking official positions on hundreds of bills while actively advocating on many more. Topics such as energy costs and reliability, environmental justice, carbon capture and sequestration, along with numerous labor issues such as standards for workers in extreme temperatures, have been at the forefront of this session.”

At Lab Girls, students can become certified phlebotomists in as little as six to eight weeks. The school offers two flexible options between a six-week evening course and an eight-week Saturday-only course. Both are designed to fit the schedules of people who are juggling jobs, families, or in some cases, both. The courses focus on hands-on learning. It requires students to bring in patients for live draws in a classroom set up to resemble a doctor’s office.

“My goal has always been to make students feel confident when they enter the field,”Simms said. “Most programs don’t give you the experience you need. Here, we do.”

Programs like Simms’, which prepare students for nationally recognized certifications, are actually part of a growing national trend. Accelerated healthcare training is expanding rapidly. It offers a short-term, high-impact pathway to stable careers in allied health. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, phlebotomist jobs are expected to grow by 8% through 2033. That’s faster than average for all occupations. Community-based programs like Lab Girls are part of that trend, which is huge for underserved communities that often face barriers to traditional education.

And sometimes, it’s not about the financial constraints. It’s just about the time. “Everybody can’t go to nursing school because nursing school is like a full-time job or most just don’t have the time. And with me, I offer an accelerated course where you can become certified in the healthcare field in as little as six weeks,” she said.

In Illinois, programs like Lab Girls are often supported by workforce initiatives that recognize the value of short-term, stackable credentials. Institutions like the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) oversee and approve these training schools. They are required to meet rigorous state standards. At the national level, the National Health career Association (NHA) requires students to demonstrate real-world competency, typically at least 30 venipunctures and 10 capillary sticks, to become certified. So while the programs are fast, they’re held to high standards.

On the road to meeting those standards, Simms originally operated out of a converted school in Markham, Illinois. When the school district abruptly reclaimed the space, she found herself without a location. And in a really devastating turn, the state required her to shut down and restart the approval process from scratch in order to operate legally at a new site. A moment in time Simms said was, “incredibly stressful.”

That’s when she connected with Christopher Cooks, her relationship manager at the Southland Development Authority (SDA). “Chris walked me through every step. I had to rebuild my business, and he kept me going. He encouraged me, pushed me, and reminded me it was okay to ask for help,” Simms said. With Cooks’ guidance, Simms found a new location in Lansing, Illinois, which turned out to be a massive upgrade from her original one-room operation. “Now I have a separate lab space for the students and then I have a separate office space where if we need to meet one-on-one, we have that option without having to do it in front of everyone,” she said.

Even finding the new location came with hurdles. Simms didn’t have the credit to sign the lease on her own. Christopher helped her think through the challenge, eventually encouraging her to reach out to her mother for support. “I don’'t like asking people for help, but [Cooks] kept telling me, it’s okay. We all need help. And I finally asked my mom to co-sign for me. I got the place just in time,” she said.

And now, not long after that ordeal, Lab Girls is expanding. “I will be adding on patient care this fall, a patient care technician course,” Simms said. “I’m also, this spring, adding on IV training. So this will be particularly for nurses and techs that have difficulty starting IVs.”

Simms is also partnering with Next Move Community Services, a nonprofit in her building, to offer scholarships to low-income high school graduates. These kinds of community partnerships and state-supported initiatives like Illinois’ PATH program are helping schools like Lab Girls serve as bridges between education and employment. “My ultimate goal is to get inside the school districts offering our class as a career pathway advancement,” Simms said. She frequently hears from her students that it means something to see someone who looks like them at the front of the room.

“I get a lot of students that [say] ‘I’m so excited to see a young Black woman start her own school’. That’s incredible,” she beamed.

The academy plans to expand its offerings further in the coming year, including specialized certifications and partnerships with local school districts to reach students even earlier.

About the Southland Development Authority (SDA)

The Southland Development Authority is a nonprofit business organization launched in 2019 by business, civic, and political leaders from around the Southland who recognize the potential of the region’s people, businesses, and real estate. Our mission is to bring the resources and capacity needed to achieve transformative, inclusive economic growth for the south suburbs with a focus on investments in the Southland’s communities, industry, housing, and workforce.