Steve Pazulski

Hiring veterans to work in long-term care facilities is a no-brainer for nursing home administrator Steve Pazulski — a Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran himself.

A retired Air Force Reservist, Pazulski continues to support veterans by taking part in the Health Facilities Association of Maryland’s (HFAM) VOW to Hire a Veteran program.

The program, which was created to help improve the unemployment rate among U.S. veterans, encourages Maryland’s long-term care industry to give preference to veterans applying for LTC jobs. According to HFAM, the average unemployment rate among recent veterans is 30%, compared to 6.9% among non-veterans.

Pazulski says the training veterans receive and the hours they put into their work while on active duty are ideal preparation for the rigors of working in long-term care.

“When most people hear the word ‘veteran,’ they think of a front line soldier with a machine gun. But in reality, there’s a significant force that’s dedicated to supporting them,” Pazulski says.

He says the kind of skill set that’s needed in the military is necessary for different long-term care jobs, too. “For instance, in the military they have logistics officers that handle supplies,” he notes. “We have that in long-term care, too.”