Thompson Health offering paid training & guaranteed jobs for those willing to become CNAs

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (WHEC) — The staffing shortages inside our local hospitals and nursing homes are impacting all of us. There aren’t enough people to take care of the sick and the problem is only getting worse so, a local health system is taking a new approach to lure in employees.

Like every healthcare facility in our region, the nursing home attached to FF Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua, M.M. Ewing, is short on staff.

“We have lost several staff due to the mandates for the vaccine and it also started before that as well, there really just doesn’t seem to be the applicants that there once were,” said Amy Daly the VP of Long-Term Care.

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That could ultimately become a major problem.

“At this point, we are still admitting because we need to serve the community and as you’re probably aware, when the nursing homes stop taking admissions it backs people up into the hospitals and it’s really creating a bottleneck for patient care,” Daly added.

But there will be a breaking point.

Currently, M.M. Ewing has 25 openings for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) at the facility and another eight LPN vacancies. In order to try and staff back up, Thompson Health is offering to pay for your training to become a certified nursing assistant, it’ll also pay you an hourly rate while you’re being trained.

Once you complete the course and get certified, you’ll be hired at M.M. Ewing. The only thing you have to do is stay for a year either full or part-time.

“It’s three weeks of classroom training and then about a week in a clinical setting where you’re actually putting into playthings that you learned in the classroom with our residents,” explains Erin Williamee, a Senior Recruiter at Thompson Health.

Once you’re a CNA, there’s another program that will pay you to become an LPN.

“We need this pipeline coming in, so we’re looking for as many compassionate people as possible to join the ranks of the Thompson health family in general,” Williamee added.

Classes begin on May 9, and will run primarily on Mondays through Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Attendance is mandatory.

The five-week course is offered every two months. Applying online is recommended because it will result in an invitation to a class information session. Click here to do so.