Michigan Business Beat | Erin Wallace, MALA - Addressing the Workforce in Long-Term Care

Michigan Business Network

Jeffrey Mosher welcomes Erin Wallace, Director of Quality Assurance, and Education, Michigan Assisted Living Association, Livonia, MI, but recording from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The topic of this conversation: Addressing the Direct Care Workforce Crisis (Training to be Offered to Strengthen Critical Workforce in Long-Term Care) Questions: 1) Michigan is working diligently to address the direct care workforce crisis for providing long-term and behavioral health care. Talk about this crisis and how it impacts us all. ERIN: Studies have shown a high percentage of staff leave their job due to dissatisfaction or conflict with their supervisor. MALA believes that by improving supervisory skills and practices, turnover rates can be reduced, and employee retention can be strengthened. A properly trained first-line supervisor will improve care outcomes and lower expenses by decreasing staff turnover. 2) A new training is being offered for first-line supervisors of direct care staff by the Michigan Assisted Living Association, and there is no cost? ERIN: The supervisory training program launching this month is available at no cost to approximately 40,000 current and future first-line employees across the state. These employees work in adult foster care, homes for the aged, assisted living, independent living, and other community-based settings 3) How is the Supervisory Training funded? ERIN: The training is funded by the Direct Care Workforce Recruitment, Retention, and Training 2024 grant awarded to Michigan State University for IMPART Alliance and funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). 4) Tell us about this training program? ERIN: The training program offers six courses designed to foster a healthy work environment, reduce staff turnover rates, and establish a career ladder for long-term care and behavioral health staff. The training is specifically for direct care supervisors who provide support and services to older adults and individuals with disabilities, including persons living with intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, physical disabilities, or traumatic brain injuries as well as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. 5) How did the pandemic impact the direct care industry? ERIN: We saw one of the major impacts of the unprecedented pandemic was revealing how fragile the already severe direct care staffing crisis was. That shortage reached crisis levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today. As a result, supervisor training is a critical component of stabilizing the workforce. In addition, research indicates that many employees leave their job due to dissatisfaction or conflict with their supervisor. MALA believes that enhancing supervisory practices can help reduce turnover rates and strengthen retention. 6) What is the difference between front line and first line workers? ERIN: We were very intentional in using the word ‘first-line’ supervisors. The first-line supervisor position is one of the most influential when it comes to the culture of the organization. This work needs to occur on a daily basis to build strong employee morale, build skills and confidence, improve employee retention and job satisfaction and enhance the quality of support and services provided to Individuals with disabilities and older adults who need to live in a group based community. 7) Erin, how can people access the training? ERIN: The training will be available on-line and on-demand 24/7 at no cost to the training participants. This around-the-clock approach is well-suited for community-based services, many of which operate on a 24-hour basis. The courses will be accessible on MALA’s learning management system throughout the 14 months of the project and can be found at https://miassistedliving.org/supervisor-training-registration/ https://miassistedliving.org/