Broad Reach Receives State Grant to Help Recruit Healthcare Staff

by Alan Pollock

NORTH CHATHAM – On Cape Cod and elsewhere, there’s an almost insatiable need for certified nursing aides and other entry-level skilled healthcare workers. There are also plenty of people who are unemployed or working low-wage jobs, in need of career advancement. A state grant program, unveiled at Liberty Commons nursing home last Friday, aims to help solve both problems.

“There’s no question that this funding will most certainly help address the demand for healthcare workers in our setting,” said Jason Lavallee of Broad Reach Healthcare, which owns Liberty Commons. The only skilled nursing facility in the state selected for the grant, Broad Reach used the program to support its certification and mentorship programs for certified nurse aides and its program to help train CNAs as licensed practical nurses. The program allowed the company to train and certify 10 new staffers.

“That’s 10 more CNAs that we might not have without this program,” Lavallee said. “The population we serve needs our help, and it’s only achieved through hard work, consistent training, and working together to create great outcomes,” he said.

The program at Broad Reach was funded by a $1.9 million state grant to the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board, which will provide training and placement services for 106 new health care workers at Broad Reach as well as Duffy Health Center, Gosnold, Inc., and Relief Home Health Services. Statewide, the grant program is providing $16.3 million from the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund, creating more than 1,800 jobs, state Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones said.

“This is so impactful, and I know it’s going to be leading to many more opportunities, especially for people that may not be in this industry today; they’re unemployed or underemployed,” she said. “This is an opportunity to provide a pathway to a meaningful career” as CNAs, LPNs, medical assistants, technologists, addiction recovery and behavioral health coaches and other in-demand jobs, Jones said.

Kara O’Donnell-Galvin of the Cape and Islands Workforce Board said her group also funds English language training for participants who need it and stipends for students taking part in the training.

“We know how expensive it is to work and live on Cape Cod, and these essential funds will assist those in training with needs such as transportation and childcare,” she said. Broad Reach’s Sheron Cope, a CNA for the past 16 years, helped mentor new trainees under the program.  “In my time as a CNA, I have helped train and share my experience with many students in providing proper care to our residents,” she said at the news conference.

Some of the training happens through Upper Cape Regional Technical School in Bourne. Mary Burke, the school’s director of adult and continuing education, thanked state labor officials for supporting workers who need advancement, along with “employers in the region who are desperate for health care workers.” Health care workers are in high demand “and we are trying to help fill those gaps, but education and training is expensive, particularly for people who live in this area who are struggling to be able to afford to remain in the region,” Burke said.

For Broad Reach, intensive mentoring and training is key to their staffing plan, more so than it might be for other businesses, Lavallee said.  “In most settings, maybe you’re lucky to train with someone for one or two days, maybe even a week, and then you’re sort of on your own,” he said. “But in order for us to recruit and train staff, we need to think outside of the box and do something different, which is why we wanted to put together this preceptor program,” he said. Pairing candidates with mentors provides them with consistent support and training, creating an environment “where you’d love to come to work and you’d love to come every single day. That program has done all of those things,” Lavallee said.

Some of the new CNAs at Broad Reach were already living on Cape Cod, sometimes working two or three other jobs, he noted. The lack of available housing also continues to be a major limiting factor for recruitment. Broad Reach owns several houses and apartment buildings, which eases the problem.

“We wouldn’t have 30 employees without those housing opportunities,” Lavallee said. “Housing is not easy on Cape Cod, but if we can make it a little bit easier for some folks, then we want to do that.”

Scan to see article in the Cape Cod Chronicle: