The Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic severely strained the rural health system as many professionals retired or left the field. The Thumb region of Michigan (Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac, and Tuscola counties) faced critical workforce shortages.
Healthcare professionals often remain in the urban areas where they trained, making rural recruitment difficult. Although some return to complete clinical rotations, many HHS organizations cannot take on students due to staffing shortages and burnout.
The region also lacks local training institutions—most are one to two hours away. Evening and weekend classes exist, but they are not well publicized and remain inaccessible for many full-time workers with families.
The Solution
In 2019, the Thumb Community Health Partnership (TCHP) and 18 local organizations conducted a community health needs assessment. After the pandemic exacerbated workforce shortages, the group partnered with GST Michigan Works! (GSTMW) and secured a state grant in 2023 to establish the Thumb Region Employer-Led Collaborative (Thumb HHS ELC), adopting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) framework.
At launch, the collaborative included 22 employers, 13 educational institutions, and 8 community partners. Their shared goal: increase training and education opportunities to address the shortage of qualified applicants. Strategies included:
- Developing a training and employment pipeline. Marketing campaigns attracted 220 individuals to job placement and training opportunities. A regional job bulletin, shared by 29 employer partners, now reaches more than 1,600 people weekly. An online “Career Stories” series showcasing diverse healthcare journeys has reached more than 2,100 viewers.
- Providing funding for training and education. The University of Michigan-Flint launched a fully funded accelerated nursing degree for 24 local students. GST Michigan Works! also partnered with training providers to upskill 25 workers across nine organizations, filling funding gaps when necessary.
- Supporting mentorship and leadership development. Employers received funding to incentivize staff to serve as mentors, speakers, and job shadow hosts. Thirty-seven employees completed the discounted leadership course “Be the Leader Nobody Wants to Leave.”
-
61%
of trainees gained healthcare employment because of their new credential.
Leveraging the TPM Framework
The TPM framework provided the Thumb HHS ELC with a clear roadmap to accelerate existing workforce efforts. Employers were already meeting to address shared workforce challenges, aligning naturally with Strategy 1: Organize for Employer Leadership and Collaboration. TPM then equipped the collaborative with data-driven tools to map talent sources, identify gaps, and coordinate solutions with education partners.
As part of this work, employers completed two-year hiring projections to quantify future workforce needs. This led to internal assessments of staffing and capacity and, when aggregated across 14 organizations, created a clear regional demand signal. Education partners used this information to align curriculum, training opportunities, and clinical capacity with real labor-market needs in the Thumb region.
TPM’s standardized data-collection tools brought consistency and credibility to the process. Guided by TPM’s focus on understanding talent supply, the collaborative identified current talent sources and assessed pipeline strengths and weaknesses—clarifying what is working today and where partnerships must be strengthened to build tomorrow’s workforce.
“Having employers define their own talent needs ensures that our sponsored students will have employment opportunities upon completion,” says Jody Kerbyson, CEO, GST Michigan Works! “It also helps inform our training providers about the occupations most in demand across the region.”
Success So Far
Three hundred and sixteen participants have enrolled in collaborative-supported training. Of these:
- Fifty-nine percent completed training and earned industry-recognized credentials.
- Sixty-one percent of completers gained healthcare employment.
- The average exit wage was $20.42/hr.
By April 2025, the collaborative expanded to 27 employer partners. Employers highlight the value: “Before the collaboration, we sourced talent online," said Mandy Palmer, chief nursing officer, Tuscola County Medical Care Community. "Now we sit on advisory boards to align curriculum with field practices and help find instructors and clinical sites.”
Best Practices
The Thumb HHS ELC’s work offers transferable lessons:
- Partner with organizations that have deep local ties.
- Expand youth engagement through mentorship and guest speakers.
- Ensure the convener is a neutral, business-facing organization.
- Secure sustainable funding to support dedicated leadership and long-term collaboration.
Looking Ahead
Counties are expanding Early Middle College (EMC) programs, allowing students to earn a diploma and coursework toward Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Registered Nurse (RN) credentials tuition-free. Ferris State University and Allied Health will also offer healthcare credentials in Huron County.
Future strategies under consideration include reverse scholarship models, peer learning meetings, and interprofessional experiences that expose college students to real-world healthcare environments.
