Some operators and state-led initiatives have stepped beyond stopgap measures to help with staffing shortages, taking pauses in Covid surges to create long-term solutions to meet future needs in skilled nursing.
Minnesota, for one, surpassed its goal of recruiting 1,000 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to the state.
The Next Generation of Nursing Assistant initiative was infused with $6.7 million to continue the program in Minnesota, with an additional $13.3 million proposed for the 2024-2025 state budget.
As of this month, 1,278 Minnesotans have participated in the program; 940 are enrolled in free training courses and 338 high school students have accessed training through their school district, with the state footing the certification exam fee.
Mission Health Communities’ in-house certified nursing assistant (CNA) program will have 400 graduates within a month after its launch in the summer of 2021, and a 92% retention rate.
The Florida-based operator has also seen a 50% reduction in CNA agency usage since launching the program.
Mission Health plans to expand the program to other states and hopefully have about 750 graduates by the end of the year, according to Cheri Kauset, vice president of business development at Mission Health.
“We realized as regulations continued to escalate during the pandemic, our strategy really needed to be updated as to where we find staff and how do we attract and retain the staff,” Kauset told Skilled Nursing News.
The program is currently up and running in three states: Kansas, Tennessee and Georgia. Minnesota and Wisconsin are next on the list for expansion, according to Kauset.
Mission Health operates 47 skilled nursing, senior living, assisted living and short-stay rehabilitation facilities across nine states.
Launching a school within a company
Mission Health created an education team whose first task was to work with state officials to create a curriculum that met regulations and guidance, Kauset said, and at the same time hire recruiters to fill classes.
Students were paid to learn, she added, as they were brought in for a four-week course, and then once they graduated, got a step up in wages.
Hospitality assistants, or students in the program, are paid $15 an hour; graduates are paid about $2 more an hour depending on the state they’re in, Kauset added.
About 95% of its hospitality assistants have graduated to become CNAs so far.
“They were able to work as a hospitality assistant, really get a feel for the job before they jumped into their education,” Kauset said. “That was actually something that really worked out well. Folks were able to see, ‘absolutely this fits me, this is something I want to do, I know this is going to be hard work, rewarding work but hard work.’ We had better retention because of it.”
Once a CNA graduates they are placed with a mentor for six months to a year to help them grow in their new role.
The mentors get paid too, about $250 during certain intervals in the program.
Staffing strategy into the future
Mission Health decided to focus on CNAs first as its strategy, seeing how difficult it was to attract new nurses to the nursing home sector.
“When you don’t have CNAs, the nurses are doing things that need to get done,” explained Kauset. “Our approach to it was, if we’re going to give our nurses who have been so good to us during the entire pandemic a breather, we have to shore up our CNA base. That’s how it all started.”
The operator is in early discussions about creating its own staffing pool as well, mostly for travel nurses.
Mission Health has invested more than $1 million in employee recruiting and retention efforts, taking on temporary nursing assistants (TNAs) through a federal program developed during the pandemic and contingent on the public health emergency (PHE). It’s a separate way to fast track CNA certification.
The crucial difference is educator availability, Kauset said.
“You could be a TNA for a very long time, waiting for an educator to come in and that has been approved by the state to be able to approve their skill set,” she added.
The operator is looking to partner with community colleges to bring in higher skilled positions like licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and certified medication aides (CMAs), Kauset said.
Kansas and Georgia are two states that make the distinction between CNAs and CMAs – the special position does everything a CNA does, but they also have the authority to pass out medications to residents.
“It’s a neat jump for those CNAs who are looking for a fast track career path. They could follow it all the way through, from CNA to CMA to LPN,” Kauset said.
Mission Health partners with virtual college Capella University for CMA certification.
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