UW-Green Bay Creating Program for Elderly Care

Thursday, July 8th, 2021 -- 11:01 AM

(WBAY) While the pandemic has taught us a lot about the capabilities of our health care system, it’s also exposed a critical need for more caregivers and nurses specifically trained to work with the elderly.

If you have a loved one living in a nursing home or assisted living facility, you’ve seen firsthand the hard work of caregivers, CNAs and other staff. It’s often a thankless job, with low pay and takes a person with a big heart to feed, bathe, groom and love our senior population.

But as people are generally living longer, finding employees who want to, and know how to, work with the elderly is getting harder and harder. It’s such a concern local employers are reaching out to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, asking for help.

In response, the college is creating a new Geriatric Health Certificate Program. And it may just help with one of the biggest roadblocks in this industry: pay. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows nursing assistants’ pay ranges from less than $11 an hour up to $20 per hour.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.