CNA Shortage Identified in Mohave County
June 2021 Update
In partnership with the Mohave County Workforce Board, Local First Arizona connected Creative Care with the Arizona@Work Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) program that now funds them not only to conduct training for their own new hires but also to provide CNA training to anyone in Mohave County who would like to attain their CNA license. This has created a workforce pipeline for all of Mohave County and is providing Creative Care with diversified income that they can utilize for their staff and facilities.
Creative Care will host their first cohort of recently graduated high school students starting in June 2021 - just a few months after being approved for ETPL. This first cohort would normally have completed the training and onsite clinical hours during the school year but was unable to due to COVID restrictions. Without this program, the students would not have been able to attain their CNA license unless they were hired by an employer that offered training or enrolled in the local community college. The students are also gaining real-life experience in long-term care where they may discover a lifelong career.
State funding is available through the Eligible Trainer Provider List (ETPL). ETPL is comprised of approved eligible training providers and training programs that are approved by the local workforce board and the state to provide training services to eligible WIOA participants. To be approved for the ETPL, training programs must meet state and local requirements, which include resulting in a federally or locally recognized credential and being related to in-demand industry sectors and occupations in Arizona. Qualified programs may be eligible for cost reimbursement.
TPM Model- Addressing Shortages in Workforce
Where It All Began:
A group of Long-Term Care employers in Mohave County identified a systemic shortage of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA’s) in their region. In fact, when just four of the facilities were surveyed, they forecasted a need for more than 65 CNA positions to be filled over the course of the next 24 months.
Through collaborative input, utilizing the TPM Model for workforce development, employers identified a couple of reasons that were factoring into the shortage:
The local community college had not been able to offer the CNA certification program for the last year and a half due to COVID-19. Assisted living facilities were shut down for outside visitors, which included student learners, and therefore students going through the CNA certification program at the community college were unable to attain their required clinical hours,. This bottleneck had completely paralyzed the pipeline of CNA’s for regional employers.
When positions could be filled, high turnover plagued the employers, due largely in part to new hires not fully understanding the role and responsibilities. The lack of preparation could be attributed to the limited amount of time spent in a senior living facility (required clinical hours at assisted living facilities only make up a portion of the total required clinical hours), so many individuals do not truly understand the full scope of expectations of the position.
Creative Care Inc., a multi-location long-term care provider in the area, had developed an onsite training program which allowed them to develop a dedicated talent pool for their company while providing invaluable insight for expectations to the trainees. There were significant costs associated with this training, however, if the new hires didn’t already have their CNA license including staff time to train, paying the new employees during training, and other resources that were needed. Due to these costs, Creative Care was limited in their ability to solely provide training for their own candidates versus utilizing the facility and program to enhance the talent pipeline for all of Mohave County.
