Today on Athens News Matters, the UGA-led initiative to increase the number of certified nursing assistants in Georgia. Plus, a Friendsgiving special with WUGA’s morning hosts
UGA helps put more certified nursing assistants in the workforce
The state of Georgia is growing older. The fastest-growing segment of the state’s population is women and men over the age of 60 – putting stress on long-term care facilities across Georgia. A critical pain point is a statewide shortage of certified nursing assistants, or CNAs. They perform a wide range of duties supporting patient care.
In April of 2022, the University of Georgia’s Institute for Disaster Management and Institute of Gerontology launched an $11 million statewide initiative to recruit and train hundreds of new CNAs. Curt Harris, the Institute for Disaster Management’s director and an associate professor in the university’s College of Public Health, headed this initiative. It’s one of several projects led by the institute to improve long-term care across the state. Harris discusses the significance of these projects with WUGA’s Greg Trevor in the latest segment of the ongoing series, “A Few Minutes With …”, highlighting university initiatives and their benefits to the people of Georgia and beyond.
Over the past two years, the Georgia CNA Career Pathway Initiative and the CNA Virtual Skills Program have given out more than $2 million in stipends to support CNA growth and added more than 1,100 certified nursing assistants to the Georgia Registry. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a certified nursing assistant, go to mycnacareer.org or cnatesting.uga.edu.
Local author announces publication of sequel, The Darkest Midnight in December
Leara Rhodes is an Associate Professor Emerita of Journalism at the University of Georgia. Her novel The Darkest Midnight in December, the sequel to this year’s Spancil Hill, will be published in December. It tells the story of a young Irish-American woman who moves from New York to Savannah, Georgia, in the early 20th century. WUGA’s Emma Auer sat down with her to discuss the novel and her upcoming book launch.
Getting to know you: WUGA’s Friendsgiving special
Friendsgiving is a relatively new holiday, where friends get together in November for a special meal. Especially this year, it’s not just an excuse to try new recipes. Loneliness is an epidemic in the US, according to the Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy. The remedy for growing social disconnection and its negative health effects—gathering together. Here at WUGA, we decided to do just that. So, pull up a chair at our Friendsgiving table and learn what our morning hosts, Aimee Marcoux and Sean Polite, think about camaraderie and food.
