Zoe Melendez showed up to her first day of school with no hair, no fingernails and no toenails. She had just been laid off from her job in a career she had been a part of for more than 25 years and was battling breast cancer.

“Everything was black. I had no eyelashes and no eyebrows. But I was accepted by my new family (at Lake Washington Institute of Technology) and made it through,” Melendez said.

The mother of two was one of three women who shared their story at EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland. All three told of how Worksource of King County helped them to find a new career.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray visited the hospital to hear from the women, administration, lab technicians and a Bellevue College dean about how the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act has benefited those seeking new employment in the medical field.

“When I hear what really happens to people, how the money is used and what the barriers were, that makes certain that when I write policies … that they actually work the way I am envisioning as a legislator,” Murray said.

The two other women who spoke about their experience with the programs came from very different backgrounds, as one was an immigrant and the other a military veteran.

“I think the most important thing is that these were all women who never saw a career,” Murray said. “We have job openings but they never would have had exposure to that without Worksource … We have to make sure we move forward to try and fill those job openings with people who want jobs. We need to make sure we have good job counselors out there who can help people see what they can achieve.”

The senator’s visit was also to help her gain perspective for a new piece of bipartisan legislation she is crafting with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Effective Apprenticeships Rebuild National Skills (EARNS) Act.

“I seek out people who want to get things done and are willing to work in bipartisan ways,” Murray said. “Getting people trained is bipartisan.”

The legislation is meant to raise awareness of registered apprenticeships, incentivize companies to start and expand their programs, help increase the number of highly-skilled workers in growing industries, and encourage stronger partnerships between employers, colleges and universities, and the workforce development systems.

But the tour was also to hear the education side of the sometimes-complicated equation of starting a new career.

Bellevue College Dean of the Health Sciences, Education, and Wellness Institute, Leslie Heizer Newquist, was also in attendance, along with EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte.

“Having the ability to start where people are … and being able to connect students to the resources they need to keep building … is critical,” Newquist said. “There are now four (community of technical) colleges (in King County) with the RN BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) programs.”

But not all of the graduates go straight into the medical industry. Some stay with the colleges that gave them an opportunity. In fact, Melendez is now a professor at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland and is working towards her doctorate. She is not an anomaly. Newquist said that Bellevue College has two former students who are now teaching at the school.

There are opportunities to retrain workers through local colleges with 11 technical and community colleges in King County. About 300 career counselors work with Worksource of King County to get those in need into education programs.

“I think something that community and technical colleges can do, in partnership with healthcare organizations, is to offer that education where people are and where people’s lives are and where their children are in daycare,” Newquist said.