MN Launching Plan to Help Nursing Homes Get Workers

(KNSI) – Minnesota has a new plan to get at least 1,000 new nurses into long-term care facilities by the end of January.

Governor Tim Walz announced the initiative to recruit and pay to train nursing assistants. Minnesota is planning to use $3.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding to pay for tuition, fees, books, technology needs, and test fees so that the training can be done at no cost to students.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education will lead the program. The program will actively look for students and help them enroll in one of the state’s certified nursing programs.

Sixteen colleges in the Minnesota State system are training around 400 members of the National Guard as emergency temporary nursing assistants in short-staffed facilities, a model the initiative plans to replicate.

Once trained, the CNAs will be able to work at long-term care facilities facing severe staffing shortages. The program will also provide up to 10 high schools with lab equipment to offer on-site nursing assistant training classes.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education convenes a workgroup of state agencies, higher education institutions, and long-term care providers to implement the recruiting and training program.

According to data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, nursing assistants are the sixth-highest in-demand job in the state.

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