Workforce recruitment initiative
By Nicole Mattson, HSE, SHRM-SCP, SPHR | January 27, 2023 | All members
Recently, Care Providers of Minnesota, along with our Long-Term Care Imperative partners applied for a Minnesota Department of Health
Long-Term Care Workforce Capacity Grant. This grant is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and
we are pleased to announce that our proposal was approved! Our project will form the basis or “hub” of the work with five other small grantees or “spokes”—this is the summary for the overall model:
Summary:
To strengthen long-term care (LTC) workforce capacity in Minnesota, MDH will bring together six stakeholder organizations with cross-cutting expertise using a hub and spoke model to build a platform by which up to date resources and ongoing initiatives may be shared with LTC communities, employers, and workforce members throughout the state. This model is built on the understanding that information and resources should be developed in a way they can be disseminated to, and utilized by training programs/academic institutions, LTC provider organizations, LTC facilities, and other LTC stakeholders to promote replication of initiatives and best practices. The stakeholder organizations selected to participate in this initiative (grantees) represent a broad range of expertise and regional diversity.
To navigate this model, the program hub (Leading Age/Care Providers) will compile and promote the initiatives and activities led by the program spokes (Benedictine, Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Wilder Foundation, HealthForce, and Ecumen). MDH will coordinate a monthly meeting for grant recipients to highlight progress, troubleshoot challenges, and promote achievements. At the end of the project, program deliverables will be combined to create a comprehensive ‘Roadmap to Success’ for LTC facilities and organizations seeking to expand LTC workforce initiatives at a local facility and organizational levels.
Our initiatives will focus on recruiting new people into the long-term care sectors. We will accomplish this by using funds to improve upon an existing website existing,
CaringCareersStartHere.com to act as a centralized hub for all things related to long-term care career pathways include education and training, employment and advancement. We will pair this work with a statewide public relations and media campaign to elevate the long-term care profession and attract new workers into Minnesota’s aging services workforce. Additionally, we will be convening a caregiver advisory panel, comprised of long-term care professionals from around the state to inform the projects initiatives and guide messaging.
Our hope is that this statewide work dovetails with national work that AHCA/NCAL is launching with its new workforce campaign—Careers in Caring—with tools and resources to equip nursing homes, assisted living communities and facilities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with tools and resources to help recruit new caregivers to the field.
Careers in Caring is research-tested, with proven practices to reach potential candidates. The campaign’s
dedicated website is your one-stop shop of resources and tools that you can begin to use today to help you with your hiring efforts. You will find informational videos, messaging materials, social media resources, graphics and much more. If you want to launch your own Careers in Caring campaign in your local community, we have also provided template social media content and press materials to assist in your outreach efforts.
Nicole Mattson | Vice President of Strategic Initiatives |
nmattson@careproviders.org | 952-851-2482