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MCC Daily Tribune

FLPPS Partners with MCC to Expand Workforce Pool Through $4 Million Grant

Career Pathway Program Aims to Launch More Than 550 Students in Health Care and Social Services Fields

Through its System Transformation and Community Investment Program, Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS) is partnering with Monroe Community College (MCC) and other community colleges and partners in the region in establishing a sustainable model for long-term career pathways that expand the health care workforce pool and provide opportunities for more diverse individuals to achieve economic mobility. FLPPS is providing $4 million in funding for the project, with MCC as the lead community college in the initiative.

Through the two-year program ending in 2023, project partners will offer educational and training opportunities, along with holistic supports to ensure students stay on track with their academic goals. Students will also receive job-placement assistance to begin their health care careers.

Starting in spring 2022, the program will take place at five SUNY community colleges: Cayuga, Corning, Finger Lakes, Genesee, and Monroe. Students will receive mentoring and case management services at each college in collaboration with Action for a Better Community to increase success and completion rates. Students will also be connected to community resources — including services for housing, transportation, and child care — to support their basic needs so that they can focus on their academic and career goals. The colleges will work with BOCES, Hillside, Catholic Family Center, PathStone, area school districts, and other workforce programs to build a recruitment pathway for students from underserved areas.

Educational and training opportunities will focus on certified nurse assistants becoming licensed practical nurses (LPN) and LPNs becoming registered nurses, medical assistants and community and social services professionals.

Annual shortages of about 200 certified nurse assistants* and 45 licensed practical nurses* projected for the Finger Lakes region—a staffing crisis exacerbated by the pandemic—underscore the critical need for a robust talent pipeline to meet employers’ health care workforce demands.

The full news release is available online.

*Source: MCC’s analysis of the labor market

Hency Yuen-Eng
Government and Community Relations
12/03/2021