Together in Health: HFNJ’s September 2025 E-newsletter

In this Issue:

• Letter from the Board Chair and CEO (below)
• Third Quarter Grant Awards
• Interview: Adelisa Perez-Hudgins of NJHCQI
• HFNJ Grant to Soroka Medical Center
• Grants in Action: Pathways to Trust

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In conversations with our community partners, we have heard repeatedly that recognizing, recruiting and retaining qualified healthcare staff has been a major challenge for many healthcare organizations. Indeed, some organizations have been unable to launch programs in the timeframes envisioned due to the tight job market.

Several health professions and specialties are affected. During the pandemic and beyond, many organizations have relied on travel nurses to fill critical shortages in nursing, something that can be expensive and not necessarily lead to a longer-term solution. Demand outstrips supply for behavioral health practitioners of all kinds. Entry-level positions such as home health aides and Certified Nursing Assistants have proven to be especially hard positions to fill and retain. A recent report on New Jersey’s healthcare workforce needs by the human resources and financial consulting firm Mercer projected a deficit of about 18,000 healthcare workers overall by 2028, making it among the five states with the largest gaps.

That is why we are excited to announce a half a million-dollar investment made through four grants this quarter to help build the healthcare workforce of tomorrow. These grants touch upon many different professions within the healthcare field: from doulas to emergency EMTs to patient navigators, certified medical assistants, phlebotomists, and even optometrists-in-training.

This is a “win/win” initiative since it many different stakeholder groups benefit from our investment. Healthcare institutions are stabilized by having qualified professionals in the local workforce to meet their hiring needs. Young people – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – receive an opportunity for a rewarding path that can secure a stable financial future. The ultimate beneficiary of these projects is the public at large, who will receive caring, compassionate care from well-qualified and trained professionals who are from the communities they serve.

By focusing our funding on supporting healthcare workforce development, we are finding niches in which we can deploy HFNJ’s funding to unlock the greatest good.

We look forward to seeing how all of these new professionals will have a positive impact on our entire community.

In good health,

Amy Schechner, Board Chair
Michael Schmidt, CEO/Executive Director