ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz plans to recruit, train and deploy 1,000 new certified nursing assistants within two months for duty in long-term care facilities. These are in addition to 400 National Guard soldiers already in similar training or about to begin. The training will help address critical staffing shortages that are clogging the state health-care system, Walz said. Colleges and nursing homes will be partners for the training. Funding project is from $3.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds.
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Walz: “Our goal is to train 1,000 CNAs in two months to bolster staffing and provide necessary care to Minnesota patients during our Covid response. But not only that, through this training program we can help maintain a stable long-term care workforce for years to come.”