By ANTONIO

ANDERSON

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — The IMPART Alliance, a Michigan State University-based organization, is offering free training into becoming direct care workers for Michigan residents.

“We received a grant from the state of Michigan of $25 million earlier this year and that carries through the end of 2025,” said IMPART Alliance communications director Tracy Anderson. “And essentially IMPART Alliance is a resource for direct care workers, and those that they provide support and services to.”

Northern Michigan University student, local author and a person under direct care Dorothy Paad spoke on the importance for disabled people like her to be taken care of. As well as what it means as a disabled person under constant care, when people say her caregiver doesn’t have a worthy job.

“For her sake, I want what she does to be seen as a career because … what she does is to help me stay alive, that is not over (dramatic), it is reality,” Paad said. “If that is not a job, I do not know what is. So that is what I want for her, plus pay, plus benefits and plus everything she deserves. What I want for myself is to be seen and treated as a human being.”

Training can be found at impartalliance.msu.edu/training/, and provides up to four levels of education, and each upon completion awards the achiever with a certificate from Michigan State University. Admission criteria requires those wishing to undergo the training to be age 16 or older, as well as being eligible to work in the United States and have access to a computer and internet for virtual training.

The course includes direct care worker competency guidelines, which the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services adopted in 2022. That paved the way for recognizing competent direct care workers as professionals.

The training program is 12 hours long, is free and the program is designed to provide foundational skills in direct care work. This course covers topics such as communication, safety and personal care. Upon completion, participants receive a direct care fundamentals certificate.

The certifications are designed to accommodate busy schedules, with many training hours offered at different times to fit most schedules. The classes can even be taken out of order, individually or the intended sequential way. The classes can even be dropped off and picked up at any time.

“We are one of the only universities taking on an issue as big as direct care work,” Anderson said.

She also said that this is an opportunity to enter a field of work in extreme demand and is an ideal fit for anyone looking to go into the medical field. It also fits for NMU students looking to be nurses, doctors, social workers or any other profession that cares for other people.

“There is a critical shortage of direct care workers in Michigan. As it stands right now, 36,000 direct care workers are needed for the demand and the needs of our state,” said Anderson. “That number is obviously going to grow as our population continues to live longer and so on. Another thing is that a lot of people think that direct care workers are needed just for the aging population, and that is very true, but also for people with disabilities, people who have children unexpectedly or early, life events like if someone has a stroke or heart attack. Then all of a sudden it’s like you were both working but you still got to work to keep food on the table and bills paid, but somebody needs to help your spouse or significant other or child.”

Michigan is not the only state dealing with the lack of direct care workers, but it is one of the few with the opportunity to turn it around with the grant given to IMPART Alliance; making it a potential role model for other states with this same job crisis, said Anderson.

“We are just trying to get the word out that we are a resource, we want to help. We want to provide free training not just for direct care workers but for anybody … At IMPART (Alliance) we provide some free training, anything from helping people live their daily lives and live to their fullest, to helping figure out medications and just different things you have to be aware of, CPR and different medical pieces that come into play, helping figure out their medicines and all of that, knowing what questions to ask their doctors, or help advocate for them.”

Not only is IMPART Alliance looking to fill the lack of direct care workers, but it’s also looking to improve the job of being a direct care worker by providing them with more benefits and ones they are already lacking, like vacation time or sick time off.

“We need change not just (in) the training, but culture change. So we are advocating that direct care workers receive increased wages, private benefits …. We are hoping that by advocating for more benefits and pay, but also providing free training, that we will help curb that turnover that we are seeing right now.”

Antonio Anderson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. His email address is aanderson@miningjournal.net.