Signing Day isn’t an event solely for student athletes to showcase their college commitment, at least in one Maryland school district.
In an effort to build a pipeline of nursing assistants, family-owned Lorien Health Services recently held its third annual “Signing Day,” celebrating 17 Howard County Public School students’ decisions to enter the direct care workforce through a state-sponsored apprenticeship program. The name of the event is meant as a play on star athletes declaring at news conferences which universities they will attend.
“Signing Day is such an exciting event for the students and their families as we celebrate the students’ decision to enter the field of nursing,” Lorien Health Services CEO Lou Grimmel Sr. said in a press release. “Howard County Public Schools has been an extraordinary partner as we look to develop a pipeline of talented individuals interested in working at Lorien.”
Maryland, like the rest of the country, has been experiencing shortages in the healthcare workforce since the pandemic, and even before then. The state falls in the bottom 10 states on a nurse-to-population ratio, according to Nurse Journal.
The healthcare sector added 31,000 jobs nationwide last month. That number is about half the average monthly gain of 60,000 over the previous 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Through apprenticeships, the Columbia, MD-based provider is connecting high school students with training to become certified nursing assistants/geriatric nursing assistants and introducing them to other healthcare pathways, such as those toward becoming a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse.
“Lorien has been such an important partner for the Apprenticeship Maryland Program because they offer students the ability to learn and work in the healthcare field while still in high school, but also providing them with jobs and continued learning after they graduate,” said Stephanie Discepolo of the Apprenticeship Maryland Program for Howard County Public Schools.
Calling Signing Day a “success,” Discepolo said, “We have seen a big increase in interested students who want to participate in the program and ultimately enter the healthcare field after high school. We hope to continue to partner with Lorien to offer more students opportunities to earn their CNA and GNA certifications in the future.”
