A $2 million grant has been awarded to a Pittsburgh charity to combat the nursing home staffing shortage through training programs projected to hire and upskill nearly 600 certified nursing assistants by 2027.
A collaborative effort between Pennsylvania nursing homes and the state’s Service Employees International Union is expected to energize a flourishing long-term care worker pipeline. Funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission was given to the Jewish Healthcare Foundation Wednesday to seed the project.
The grant comes at a good time, observers said. Reports recently cited Pennsylvania as having the worst nursing shortage in the country.
“During our three decades of working with nursing homes throughout Pennsylvania, we have never seen such high levels of staffing vacancies and nursing home closures,” Karen Wolk Feinstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement. “The industry was hit incredibly hard during COVID, and it has yet to bounce back. This investment will help to ensure the long-term workforce is supported and equipped to provide care to the older adults of our region.”
Many organizations have been on the receiving end of innovative new long-term care workforce investments and training programs. The Arizona Health Care Association, for instance, received a $6.5 million grant from the state between May 2022 and June 2024. The result was a workforce development program that recruited and trained more than 2,000 CNAs and caregivers — surpassing the association’s goal by 48%.
Providers in Pennsylvania are hoping for a similar storyline, which includes heightened recruitment, retention and solid career paths for front-line workers.
“The need to develop, train and engage the CNA workforce is critical to provide essential, person-centered, quality care for the older adults we serve,” Taylor McMahon, director of nursing at The Willows Presbyterian Senior Care Network, added in a statement. “This funding will be extremely helpful to continue our CNA training classes, which will create a pipeline of compassionate, competent caregivers for the fast-growing geriatric population for years to come.”
