The Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan (AAAWM) recently unveiled its new community training lab, marking a significant step in addressing the growing challenges faced by direct care workforce across the state. Located in Grand Rapids, the center is dedicated to equipping caregivers with essential skills and support, addressing Michigan’s critical shortage of direct care […]
We are thrilled to support your advocacy to help build a stronger Direct Care Workforce in Michigan and to announce our awardees. Read more for our complete list of all awardees.
Providing solutions for the shortage of direct care workers is a work in process. But an exciting new option exists that leverages technology so that some Direct Care Worker /Direct Support Professional (DCW/DSP) tasks can be performed remotely, making it possible for the individuals they support to have increased access to services. Lunden Home in Kentwood […]
Michigan State University has received a $25 million grant to address the state’s shortage of direct care workers from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. A research team housed in the College of Osteopathic Medicine will use part of the grant to establish a Direct Care Worker Career Center. IMPART Alliance is an […]
Michigan State University received much-needed funding to address the state’s critical shortage of direct care workers. Those are the people who provide long-term care and support to people with disabilities or older adults. “You need to be compassionate, you need to be empathetic and you need to have a lot of patience,” said Kelli Ohnstad, […]
Michigan State University has received a $25 million grant that will address the state’s critical shortage of direct care workers, or DCWs, by establishing a Direct Care Career Center that aims to increase pathways into the field and transform the public view to one that recognizes the workforce as a respected profession.
DCWs provide long-term support to individuals with disabilities and older adults. They assist with hands-on care and tasks needed to maintain as much independence as possible. Paid direct care assistance beyond what families can provide is often a necessity, but there is a dire shortage of people trained to do this kind of work. Employers are facing serious challenges in hiring and retaining staff. About 190,000 DCWs are currently serving the state’s residents; at least 36,000 more are needed.
IMPART Alliance is tackling a problem faced by all of us, including our parents, our partners and, ultimately, ourselves,” said executive director and leading faculty researcher Clare Luz. “The U.S. and Michigan’s populations are rapidly aging, which is creating a greater demand for high-quality, lower cost supports and services at home, where most people prefer to live for as long as possible in their later years.”
This collaborative effort is a crucial step towards developing competency assessments, which will serve as the basis for granting competency-based credentials for Direct Care Workers.
“Clare Luz, gerontologist, and Kevin Foley, a geriatrician, in MSU’s Department of Family and Community Medicine in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, say meeting the demand requires recruiting more medical students into geriatric specialties, training more direct care workers and improving the culture that defines aging.”
LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today announced a partnership with IMPART Alliance at Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine to develop infection control training for direct care workers. MDHHS has provided IMPART Alliance $50,000 in COVID Relief Funding to develop the training and make it widely available for […]
Grand Ledge High School students are learning key healthcare skills by participating in a free IMPART Alliance Personal Care Aide training course! The first training session, “Introduction to Aging”, encouraged students to learn about how some older adults might experience physical challenges. The Grand Ledge School District has provided great support for this pilot program […]
