Lunder CareForce Institute Expands Employer Partnerships and Flexible Training Pathways

On the one-year anniversary of its founding, the Lunder CareForce Institute at Hebrew SeniorLife is marking significant growth by adding new employer partnerships, expanding training locations, and launching a flexible hybrid program. The Institute is dedicated to training the next generation of caregivers. 

The Lunder CareForce Institute has signed agreements with CareOne and Tufts Medicine, expanding the program to prepare students for roles with these health care organizations, as well as Hebrew SeniorLife. Recent graduates plan to start working immediately at locations including Tufts Medical Center, Melrose Wakefield Hospital, and CareOne. 

We are also pleased to announce new flexibility in class formats and cost. Following our licensure by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure, we are now able to accept private pay students into our nurse aide training program. In addition, the Lunder CareForce Institute has introduced a hybrid, part-time option to meet the needs of students balancing work and family responsibilities. The new format combines virtual weekday classes with in-person weekend skills training.

CareOne will also serve as the Lunder CareForce Institute’s first off-campus training hub. While classroom instruction will continue to be led by Lunder CareForce Institute instructors via online learning platforms, students will complete hands-on clinical training with CareOne educators at Essex Park in Beverly later this year, extending the program’s reach. As a family-owned health care organization with multiple locations across Massachusetts, CareOne is dedicated to delivering compassionate, high-quality care across a full continuum of services while fostering a supportive environment for both residents and staff.

Students who enroll through employer partners, including Hebrew SeniorLife, receive fully covered tuition, and some may qualify for grant funding that allows them to earn while they learn.

“The growth of the Lunder CareForce Institute reflects both the urgency of the workforce challenge and the power of strong partnerships,” said Lunder CareForce Institute executive director Emily McGrath. “By expanding to new employer partners, launching our first regional training hub, and introducing flexible program options, we are removing barriers to education and creating meaningful pathways into health care careers. Our goal is simple: to prepare compassionate, highly skilled caregivers who are ready to make an immediate impact on improving health outcomes for those in their care.”

As one of the region’s leading health care employers, Hebrew SeniorLife has drawn on its first-hand experience to build programs that respond directly to employer needs. The result is a program that helps employers save time on hiring, reduce their dependence on temporary staffing, and hire candidates who are prepared to grow into future roles.

“One of the things that sets the Lunder CareForce Institute apart is its willingness to adapt to the needs of employers like Tufts Medicine. Lunder has worked closely with our nursing leadership to enhance its standard curriculum, ensuring acute care nursing assistants are better prepared for the realities of inpatient care. That level of partnership is what truly makes the Lunder CareForce Institute unique as a nurse aide training institute,” said Geoff Vercauteren, system director of workforce development at Tufts Medicine.

The first thirty participants are receiving rave reviews from their new employers. Nurse Manager Joseph Rodriguez has three Lunder CareForce Institute graduates working as nurse aides on his floor at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center at NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham. “They have demonstrated compassion in caring for patients,” he said. “They are enthusiastic,  energetic, and inquisitive in the questions they ask, not to mention the professionalism they exhibit.”

The Lunder CareForce Institute at Hebrew SeniorLife is transforming how the next generation of caregivers is recruited, trained, and supported. It prepares students to thrive as skilled, compassionate nurse aides and creates a robust pipeline for employers, strengthening the health care workforce. Future growth plans include a practical nurse program and initiatives to train a variety of health care workers.

This project is funded by the Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grant (Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund FY’24-25 Appropriation). This grant initiative is administered by Commonwealth Corporation on behalf of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Workforce Skills Cabinet.

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national leader working to create a world where aging is defined by possibility, not limitation. We care for more than 4,500 older adults each day across seven campuses throughout Greater Boston, and offer support for families in the aging journey. Our services include in-home care, outpatient therapies, an outpatient memory clinic, short- and long-term inpatient care, hospice, independent and assisted living, and affordable housing with services. We conduct influential research on aging at our Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a grant portfolio of $87 million, and train future health care workers at the Lunder CareForce Institute. Hebrew SeniorLife is a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.