NJBIA submitted testimony Thursday in support of legislation that would require the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development to identify and help recruit unemployed individuals for jobs in healthcare facilities, home healthcare and hospice settings. 

The bill, A-4809 sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D6) and Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli (D15), appropriates $250,000 to fund training programs and resources for eligible individuals. The Assembly Labor Committee voted 10-1 to release the bill. 

“This legislation demonstrates one way that workforce development can truly be accomplished using our existing state infrastructure to address a very real workforce gap,” NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Althea D. Ford said in her written testimony.   

New Jersey is expected to have the fourth-largest projected shortage of registered nurses in the country (-24,000), according to a report from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile the critical shortage of certified nursing assistants CNAs has left many New Jersey nursing homes unable to meet state mandated staffing ratios shortage of certified nursing assistants (CNA). 

A report issued by the New Jersey Task Force on Long-Term Care Quality and Safety earlier this year said it was “imperative that New Jersey embrace all strategies to increase the supply of workers available” for long-term care facilities, home health aide services and related healthcare support service positions. 

In her testimony, Ford said the legislation would effectively use the resources of the NJDOLWD to by “connecting prospective workers to employment opportunities in an in-demand field.” 

“NJDOLWD is strategically positioned to interact with individuals seeking employment and direct them to training opportunities that can directly impact the critical workforce shortages we are experiencing in healthcare,” Ford said.