Loretto Receives 2023 Frontline Healthcare Worker Champion Award

Loretto Receives 2023 Frontline Healthcare Worker Champion Award

National Fund for Workforce Solutions’ peer recognition program highlights healthcare providers dedicated to building equitable, inclusive workplaces through worker-centered workforce development programs.

Loretto has been awarded a 2023 CareerSTAT Frontline Healthcare Worker Champion Award by National Fund Workforce Solutions, a national network dedicated to promoting racial equality in the workforce and workforce development. Loretto is one of only eight healthcare organizations in the U.S. to win a Frontline Healthcare Worker Champion Award, which recognizes companies that create good jobs and build equitable workplaces by making significant investments in frontline workers.

Loretto is the fourth largest healthcare provider in Central New York, employing over 2,500 people who care for close to 10,000 people of all ages, income levels, and care needs at its 19 locations in Onondaga and Cayuga counties. As a mission-based nonprofit that offers the broadest scope of memory and adult care services in the region, this award recognizes Loretto for its commitment to attracting, retaining, and growing highly qualified frontline employees through its workforce development initiatives. It is the second time Loretto is being recognized nationally for workforce innovation by this organization, having received the Emerging Champion award in 2018 thanks in great part to its collaborative work with CenterState CEO on initiatives like the successful WorkTrain and HealthTrain programs.

“We are excited for the return of our signature employer recognition program,” said Amanda Cage, president and CEO of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. “As we strive to tackle structural racial inequities that have held many individuals back, we are proud to recognize healthcare organizations whose work reflects our vision of ensuring that all workers have the resources they need to thrive, that race does not dictate employment outcomes, and that all jobs are good jobs.”

Champions create a worker-centered culture of learning and leverage their influence to create organizational and regional change where employers, workers, and communities thrive. Honorees are selected for using workforce development strategies that promote racial equity and inclusion, accessible training and skills development opportunities, and frontline career progression. Organizations chosen as Emerging Champions demonstrate a similar commitment but are earlier in their journey to build equitable and inclusive workplaces for frontline workers.

Loretto is one of the region's only providers offering paid training programs that provide a pathway out of poverty into viable healthcare careers.

Over the past five years, Loretto's Certified Nurse Aide and Certified Home Health Aide Training Programs have trained over 300 employees, each earning their New York State certification and a guaranteed permanent Loretto job with a wage increase and access to benefits upon graduation.

In addition to paid training, Loretto offers paid career advancement opportunities like its Licensed Practical Nurse Apprenticeship Program, the nation’s first federally recognized program of its kind, that provides employee training and exam support. So far, 34 employees have completed this program, earned their LPN certification, and effectively doubled their salaries as Loretto employees. Loretto also offers certification programs in dementia care, ServSafe food preparations, and various leadership academies and management training opportunities.  

Loretto's President and CEO, Dr. Kimberly Townsend, believes these workforce development initiatives are critical to Loretto living its mission of providing extraordinary care to others while taking care of one another:” Many of our workforce development programs began as a result of conversations with employees regarding what Loretto could do to help them become successful. Today, hundreds of frontline employees from diverse backgrounds have benefitted from these initiatives, advancing their careers in healthcare and earning more money for their families. I am grateful that Loretto is being recognized as a Champion for frontline healthcare workers because creating an equitable, inclusive working environment for Loretto frontline employees has been, and will continue to be a top priority.”

CareerSTAT is a healthcare sector strategy of the National Fund rooted in the power of peer-learning. The peer-led recognition program, which seeks to share workforce development innovation and accelerate the adoption of best practices, is core to the National Fund’s mission. CareerSTAT and the Frontline Healthcare Worker Champions program are made possible through generous support from MetLife Foundation and the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund.

“The WES Mariam Assefa Fund congratulates this year’s awardees for their commitment to creating more worker-centered, equitable workplaces. As a funder focused on supporting economic inclusion for immigrants and refugees, who make up a large part of our healthcare workforce, we are excited to support the National Fund's CareerSTAT program and to see healthcare employers supporting access to quality jobs for their frontline workforce,” said Lauren Crain, director of U.S. programs and strategy at the WES Mariam Assefa Fund. 

Champions will be highlighted throughout the upcoming year, culminating in an awards ceremony honoring recognized organizations at the National Fund’s biennial convening, SHIFT Toward an Equitable Future in Memphis TN, September 24-26, 2024.

About Loretto

Loretto is a leader in comprehensive healthcare services in Central New York. As the fourth largest healthcare provider and the sixth largest employer in the region, the 2,500 exceptional people at Loretto’s 19 locations deliver extraordinary care to close to 10,000 people of all ages, income levels, and care needs in Onondaga and Cayuga counties each year. From adult day programs and short-term rehabilitation, to the home-like settings in its assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities, Loretto is actively investing in its employees, in medical research, and in new technologies to improve care in our community, Making Every Day Extraordinary. Loretto: exceptional people. Extraordinary care.

About National Fund for Workforce Solutions

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions envisions an equitable future where all workers have the resources required to thrive, race does not dictate employment outcomes, and all jobs are good jobs. We are a recognized leader in establishing and scaling effective strategies that foster racial equity in the workforce to help communities thrive. Our dynamic national network is comprised of more than 30 regional workforce collaboratives that convene cross-sector stakeholders and align resources toward collective action for greater impact. Our four solutions — activating employers to make jobs better, equipping workers for success, changing systems for improved outcomes, and co-investing for impact — are how we work to achieve our goals. Learn more at www.NationalFund.org.