Minnesota launched an “urgent hiring initiative” to help long-term care facilities struggling with staffing amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.
“Pre-COVID, we have had staffing shortages in care settings across Minnesota, but what we’re experiencing right now is really something different,” Daniel Pollock, assistant commissioner of continuing care for older adults at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said in October.
The program is part of the state’s long-term care battle plan, which earlier coronavirus relief legislation approved and funded. The hiring initiative aims to develop a pool of 500 available workers who can be deployed to nursing homes for at least 14 days at a time.
The program will pay entry-level healthcare workers, who include certified nursing assistants, up to $25 per hour; licensed practical nurses up to $35 per hour; and registered nurses up to $50 per hour. It also may cover travel, lodging and per diem reimbursement, depending on the situation.
The purpose of the program is to ensure that no facilities need to be evacuated, Pollock said.
From the December 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
