TNA to STNA
Tori Bryant and Bob Speelman
March 8, 2023
NOTE: This was taken from the blog of Foundations Health Solutions leader Bob Speelman. Bob works closely and frequently communicates with our Foundations Health facilities.
Tori Bryant is 22 and is an STNA(State Tested Nursing Assistant) at our Meadow Grove facility in Grove City, Ohio. Prior to becoming an STNA, Tori worked at Kroger as a cashier and grocery stocker. A friend of hers worked at Meadow Grove and told her about the TNA(Temporary Nursing Assistant) program that the Federal Government approved during COVID to help alleviate the staffing shortage of Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes. Tori interviewed at Meadow Grove, became a TNA, and has excelled in the position. The residents and staff alike loved her.
Recently the Federal Government ended the TNA program, and everyone who was a TNA had to test and pass the written and skills test to become a CNA or STNA as it is called in Ohio.
Though she is very technically skilled, Tori is not good at testing and did not pass when she first went to take her test. After several attempts, she gave up and found another job where she didn’t need the certification. Tori missed her residents and the staff at Meadow Grove. Just recently, Meadow Grove began offering their own STNA training classes and they called Tori to let her know. Tori felt that with the individualized training and small class size, she might just be able to learn what she needed to pass the test. Tori did just that and is now back at Meadow Grove as an official STNA. The residents and staff are thrilled to have her back, and she is making a difference every day in the lives of her residents. She’s home again and doing what she loves!
Bob Speelman, STNA