A new nationwide learning institute for nurse aides aims to be the turnkey pipeline for both newcomers to the long-term care sector and mid-career professionals.

The CareForce Academy was unveiled earlier this month and will be accepting its first applicants in July. Its technical platform and curriculum are in place, says Lori Porter, the co-founder and CEO of the National Association for Health Care Assistants, in this edition of the McKnight’s Newsmaker’s podcast.

Porter and others in the NAHCA braintrust came up with the idea for the academy and are now lining up scholarship funding in order to make enrollment costs free or as low as possible. All offerings and counseling will be online and will offer more than enough for anyone wanting to pass a CNA licensing test, Porter said. There also will be specialty modules for aides to build or expand their knowledge and skills in areas such as infection control, wound care and more.

“We’ve had the prescription for a long time. We’re just now filling it,” Porter explained about the large-scale effort to train more aides.

In this heartfelt discussion with McKnight’s Executive Editor James M. Berklan, she conveys details and the passion behind the new academy, which will both complement and distinguish itself from other aide-focused programs.

“I think we finally got it right,” Porter says.