Thundermist Health Centers using new program to combat healthcare worker shortage

WEST WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) –A program aimed at bringing healthcare workers back to the Ocean State is looking to come back bigger in its second year.

The Thundermist Health Center Workforce Development Program is wrapping up its pilot year.

Thundermist Health Center introduced the program in the middle of 2022, and the $1.5m for the pilot year is set to expire at the end of November.

“I see this as a great big pilot that we will expand on and continue to expand on,” Workforce Development Director Amy Weinstein said. “So the celebration at the press conference today was wonderful and now we need to roll up our sleeves and get back to work to be able to scale these programs for the future.”

Weinstein said that in the past year Thundermist has been able to grow its connections with local colleges, and are already hearing from former participants looking to bring more people in if the program returns.

“The great news is I’ve had a lot of our participants who participated last time ask about doing it again,” Weinstein said. “They’ve got friends, they’ve got family members who want to join, so the momentum has started, and we hope to just build on that and continue.” 

The funding goes towards covering costs for training healthcare professionals, partnering with local colleges, and introducing new training programs.

The program trained more than 200 students and professionals in its first year, something staff said is more important than ever.

“I think now it’s time to start rebuilding,” Weinstein said. “We’re having a tough time recruiting in the community health space and our acute care settings. And so, I think it’s just a call for all of us to do something different, to do something innovative to bring people back.”