At Cross Country Workforce Solutions Group (CCWSG), we are all too familiar with the disparities in health equity in specific communities due to race and ethnicity. Such inequalities were magnified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

<h2>Recruiting and training the workforce of the future</h2>At Cross Country <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/wsg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Workforce Solutions Group</a> (CCWSG), we are all too familiar with the disparities in health equity in specific communities due to race and ethnicity. Such inequalities were magnified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) reported, "The COVID-19 pandemic has brought social and racial injustice and inequity to the forefront of public health. It has highlighted that health equity is still not a reality as COVID-19 has unequally affected many racial and ethnic minority groups, putting them more at risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19."As the nation's largest provider of non-medical, in-home care workers for the elderly, our services target and support many under-resourced communities. These services are provided in partnership with Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) teams. We recruit, hire, and manage the schedule for nearly 2,500 caregivers and work hard to match the level of care needed to meet our participants' ever-changing medical needs.We believe in health equity and that everyone should have a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible. According to one <a href="https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2017/05/what-is-health-equity-.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a>, this requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care.One of the unique ways that CCWSG creates better health equity is through our recruitment and training of patient care assistants (PCAs). For instance, in Michigan, we have implemented a targeted program to reach workers who don't have defined career paths. Such people might be currently working at fast-food chains or retail outlets as their primary source of income but have yet to see an opportunity they might pursue as a career.We provide four weeks of classroom training and then match each participant with a PCA for mentoring for an additional three weeks. The program is offered at no cost to the participant, outside of their required time to complete the training. Through this opportunity, we help to provide people with dignity and the ability to bring home a paycheck from doing meaningful work, as well as a flexible schedule to support their lifestyle and personal responsibilities. Many people don't have the money to go through training to become certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in under-resourced communities, so we are providing opportunities to meet this gap.At CCWSG, we are committed to driving and supporting health equity for all. To explore how you can be a part of the workforce of the future, check out <a href="https://jobs.healthcaretalent.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our opportunities</a> at Cross Country Workforce Solutions Group.

Building Health Equity