Long-term care’s worker shortages are leading to creative solutions and new partnerships in western New York, where a skilled nursing company is working with its local union and an education cooperative to advance nursing careers.
The McGuire Group and Absolut Care have linked with 1199SEIU and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), a New York state initiative that offers a variety of instructional and non-instructional career services. The union handles testing and processes tuition, which comes to $13,750 for the licensed practical nursing program plus $300 out-of-pocket expenses for supplies and uniforms; BOCES handles the curriculum, and McGuire and Absolut provide on-the-job training.
“Staffing challenges continue to plague the long-term care industry nationwide as we struggle to rebuild the workforce to pre-pandemic levels,” said Aaron Polanski, director of Workforce Development for The McGuire Group, in an email to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “Creative workforce development initiatives, including offering seamless opportunities to get paid, attend school and climb the corporate ladder, are attractive incentives. We are partnering with local schools, educational programs and organized labor to create a meaningful solution to these challenges that plague our workforce.”
In 2022, the McGuire Group’s Harris Hill Nursing Facility in Williamsville, NY, received a Workforce Development Initiative grant to support hiring efforts for licensed nurses, expand apprenticeships and address vacancies throughout its facilities. That grant, awarded through the state’s Department of Labor, was the first of its kind in western New York. McGuire used the funds to develop the initial BOCES partnership to provide classroom and clinical training for four employees at Harris Hill.
“This gave them the opportunity to get paid to learn while providing a balance between work, school and other obligations,” Polanski said. Those students received their educational certificates at a graduation ceremony on Nov. 7.
Buoyed by the program’s success, the McGuire Group and Absolut Care expanded their outreach to include the 1199SEIU Upstate health care union and other BOCES programs. The apprenticeship curriculum includes coursework on topics such as regulatory knowledge, management and leadership training, and the application of clinical skills. That program helps students understand facility operations and why things are done a certain way, Polanski said.
Employees must work at a McGuire or Absolut facility for at least one year and meet prescribed academic criteria to qualify for the apprenticeship program.
Overall, these partnerships allow approximately 60 BOCES students per year to complete their clinical rotations at McGuire’s and Absolut’s western New York facilities.
McGuire is also deepening relationships with area high schools to offer skilled nursing as a career pathway.
“It’s what’s helping us rebuild our nursing workforce and creating pathways that are changing lives,” Polanski said.
