State awards $5M grant to assist mission-driven organizations 

LANSING, MI – To effectively address the state’s critical shortage of nursing home professionals, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recently selected LeadingAge Michigan for a $5.1 million workforce stabilization grant.

                The Lansing-based association will use the funds to deploy a data-driven approach for nursing home staff recruitment and retention. The primary goal is to directly solicit, measure and share workforce feedback on the root causes of the workforce crisis post pandemic.

                “LeadingAge Michigan is committed to assisting our members meet industry challenges through fostering collaborations that help identify, demonstrate and assess promising workforce development and improvement practices,” said David E. Herbel, president and CEO. “This initiative will drive honest and frequent communication with real-time data. Ultimately, our outcomes will be shared with numerous audiences and policy makers in Michigan.”

                Specifically, LeadingAge will deploy the nationally recognized WeCareConnect staff satisfaction survey to 35 nonprofit nursing homes located across the state at no cost to each facility. Each of the participating nursing homes will use the survey tool over three years. The data collected data will help nursing homes create staff-centered workplaces, enhance training opportunities and, ultimately, attract and retain professional staff.

                LeadingAge Michigan’s program, called Work That Matters, provides for the following:

• Access WeCareConnect employee surveys for up to three years at no cost;
• Structured employee input programs that assess issues in real-time using an objective, third-party system;
• Trends in staff satisfaction over time;
• Real-time interventions, allowing for immediate responses to employee concerns;
• A dashboard that identifies both aggregate and individual issues as well as corresponding management responses; and
• Monetary incentives for employees to provide non-anonymous feedback. 

“The innovative grant proposal submitted by LeadingAge emphasizes the most crucial aspect of long-term care – the human connection,” said Jennifer Belden, director, Bureau of Survey and Certification, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs in a letter of support. “By developing an infrastructure to solicit feedback and open communication, team members can speak up, ask questions and share ideas without fear of retribution.”

LeadingAge’s grant is part of  MDHHS’s Nursing Home Workforce Stabilization program to address the state’s workforce crisis. The $67 million allocation will help nursing homes and nonprofit healthcare training organizations stabilize and improve staffing in long-term care settings. The program runs through Sept. 30, 2026.

For more information on LeadingAge Michigan, visit www.leadingagemi.org.

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LeadingAge Michigan is a leader representing the full continuum of mission-driven senior care. Founded in 1968, we represent a new era of integrated services, innovation and collaboration to enhance member value and improve the lives of Michigan seniors.