Workforce Fund Invests in School Staffing Agency in Response to Growing Healthcare Crisis

• Achieve Partners Backs RO Health to Meet Growing Demand for K-12 Healthcare Professionals

Achieve Partners announced an investment in Ro Health, one of the fastest-growing providers of nursing and behavioral therapy solutions in school and home health environments. The acquisition is the latest in Achieve’s new fund, which helps companies build in-house training programs to both expand their pools of talent and increase access to career pathways in fast-growing industries.

Long before the outbreak of Covid-19, public schools across the U.S. faced shortages of nurses, psychologists, autism specialists, and behavioral health professionals. Today, almost half of public school students attend a school without a psychologist on staff, and fewer than 40% of schools employ a full time nurse. The impact of these talent gaps has only become more acute over the past two years as a growing number of students report experiencing mental health challenges in the wake of the pandemic.

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“The past two years have only exacerbated a healthcare personnel shortage that threatens almost every rung of the U.S. economy, including our public schools,” said Sandie Tracy, RN, a member of Ro Health’s advisory board. “Rather than waiting for workers to show up, it’s incumbent upon healthcare providers like us to build talent from within — an approach that will both address our partners’ near-term needs and build stronger talent pipelines for the years to come.”

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Through its investment in Ro Health, Achieve Partners will work to address this extreme shortage – which mirrors similar challenges being faced at hospitals and other public health environments – by launching a training program that will equip entry-level workers with the skills to enter full-time roles in fast-growing healthcare jobs in a variety of contexts. Named one of the country’s fastest-growing medical staffing agencies by Staffing Industry Analysts for two consecutive years, Ro Health has brought its expertise to bear on supporting a broad range of public health environments beyond school and home settings, such as long-term care facilities, public health agencies and correctional facilities.

“The foundation of the apprenticeship model is the belief that it’s possible to solve employers’ talent gaps and fulfill job-seekers’ aspirations at the same time,” said Cassidy Leventhal, Vice President at Achieve Partners. “Building on its track record of success, Ro Health is putting this model to work to tackle the labor shortage in one of the most critical fields for the long-term health of our economy and our society.”

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