Chance Nadritch was gearing up to repay about $170, 000 in student loans he racked up from nursing school when he heard about a workforce program through Rochester Regional Health that would take care of it.
"Usually, if it sounds too good to be true, it's not true," said Nadritch, a certified registered nurse anesthetist. "But in this scenario, I was over the moon."
After reviewing the paperwork with his father, who works for a bank, Nadritch said he felt confident enough to participate in the Clasp Program at Rochester Regional Health. Clasp is a fintech workforce program, based in Boston, that “connects employers with clinical students before graduation and tie loan repayment to employment,” according to the company’s website.
Through the program, RRH would pay off Nadritch's student loans in full, if he agreed to six years of employment with the institution. The rookie CRNA thought that was a small price to pay for such a big relief.
"Having that not looming over your head is one of the most breathtaking releases on earth," Nadritch said. "Really focusing on a future rather than having to be stuck in this past three years of my life."
The program primarily focuses on recruiting CRNAs like Nadritch. Experts predict that profession will be in high demand in the foreseeable future due to industry-wide wave of retirements among physician anesthesiologists. Experts also took into account the rise in demand for surgeries with new technologies, and an aging population.
Also, for the health care systems, CRNAs are a less expensive alternative to anesthesiologists, according to officials.
"We got to figure out in our country how to deliver the service to our community, but do it in a much more cost-effective way," Dr. Charlene Wilson, executive vice president and chief people officer for Rochester Regional Health.
Wilson said the partnership with Clasp is RRH's way of addressing health care gaps by prioritizing workforce retention and recruitment.
" We know that healthcare employers have an opportunity to play a more active role, we believe, in developing the workforces of our communities," said Wilson
She said this can be accomplished "by taking the burden, both from a financial perspective as well as a well-being perspective, off of the student who wants and desires to go into clinical health care."
