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Rural hospital seeks state grant to train 12 certified nursing assistants; committee lays request on table
Summary
Senate File 16‑32 would appropriate funds to Aspirus Lakeview Hospital (Two Harbors) to train up to 12 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to address local staffing shortages; committee laid the bill on the table for possible inclusion.
Senate File 16‑32, carried by Sen. Jen Hochschild, requests state support for a certified nursing assistant (CNA) training program at Aspirus Lakeview Hospital (ALV) in Two Harbors to address a local staffing shortfall. The Jobs and Economic Development Committee laid the bill on the table for possible inclusion.
Sen. Hochschild and Greg Ruberg, president of Aspirus Lakeview, told the committee ALV is a 25‑bed critical access hospital that has struggled to recruit and retain CNAs, a problem the hospital said is common in rural areas since the pandemic. Ruberg said recent retirements and a shift in workforce preferences for non‑24/7 work have increased reliance on traveling CNAs; at the time of testimony ALV reported four travel nursing assistants and two on‑staff CNAs, and the local skilled nursing facility reported 15 open positions and frequent reliance on agency CNAs.
Ruberg said ALV’s plan would train up to 12 CNAs and commit to hiring up to six of the trainees, with the others available to local skilled nursing facilities and congregate care providers. When asked about the appropriation amount, committee members noted the request is “a very, very small amount,” but the specific appropriation was not clearly stated in the committee record; during questioning a senator referenced an amount of $42,000 as an example during the dialog, and proponents said program partners would include a local college for classroom and clinical rotations.
Ruberg described the program as a local solution for a workforce bottleneck that affects hospital capacity and patient flow; he recommended the model as a potential statewide approach for other rural communities facing CNA shortages. The committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
