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������ is responding to the nursing home staffing shortage in Minnesota by offering nursing assistant classes at no cost to participants.

The free training is in response to Governor Tim Walz’s recently announced initiative to recruit, train and deploy at least 1,000 certified nursing assistants (CNA) for Minnesota long-term care facilities.

The classes will be offered in a hybrid format in both Hutchinson and Willmar. The 32 students, already enrolled, will complete the course in January.

This isn’t the first request for training Ridgewater has responded to during the pandemic. Ridgewater recently trained several members of the Minnesota National Guard for deployment as emergency, temporary nursing assistants. The training offered will model this initiative.

“We’re proud to answer the Governor’s call to train certified nursing assistants during the pandemic,” said Sam Bowen, dean of customized training and continuing education. “Our instructors and staff have been outstanding at adapting to the ever-changing situation.”

Once trained, the CNAs will be eligible for employment at Minnesota long-term care facilities that are facing severe staffing shortages.

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