At senior living organizations, retaining qualified workers remains a primary concern, and one LeadingAge member is taking an innovative approach to supporting its care staff.

Employees who have low earnings face unique challenges that complicate their ability to work—difficulties like finding transportation, child care, or maintaining stable housing. The LeadingAge report Feeling Valued Because They Are Valued notes that 45% of caregiver households live below 200% of the federal poverty level and 47% rely on some form of public assistance to make ends meet. Over one-third of these caregivers (36%) lack affordable housing.

In response, Holland Home, a LeadingAge member based in Grand Rapids, MI, is embracing an approach that could help to transform aging services’ workforce challenges if widely adopted. For nearly two decades, Holland Home has collaborated with an Employer Resource Network to support its care workers’ daily living needs and enable them to come to work. The innovative approach is “a stellar example of really trying to put the employee’s needs first—and in a way that respects their privacy,” says Molly Carpenter, director of workforce strategy and development for the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. “If employers can help them with some of the life stressors, then [workers] show up better for the aging adults they serve.”

How the Employer Resource Network Can Help

Employer Resource Networks® USA, begun in 2007 and now with approximately 30 area networks nationwide, enables organizations to support working families’ self-sufficiency and to drive business growth.

The focus is on entry-level and low- to mid-wage employees. Staff members receive help from an on-site success coach who confidentially connects them directly to community resources such as public benefits, education and skills training, and counseling to enable them to not only stay on the job, but also generally position them for success.

Holland Home, an independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and dementia care community, shares an ERN employee with five other organizations. Holland Home administrators have given out bus passes, helped staff access car repairs, and set up a partnership with a local credit union for low-cost interest to enable workers to surmount financial barriers. Success coaches can assist with food, housing, and other needs. They can also devise creative solutions around challenging issues including compensation, such as if a provider wants to give an individual a raise but doing so would cause the employee to lose public benefits. They can also help staff who need guidance in understanding work culture.

The additional support gives caregivers opportunities to stay employed. “If you can help an employee stabilize their life, they’ll be a more dedicated and stable worker,” said James Vander Hulst, president, chief disruptive officer, and founder of ERN-USA, noting that ERN is trying to drive innovation in work culture.

A Forward-Looking Idea

One important element is that the assistance is not scripted, said Carpenter, but chosen by the care workers to address their specific needs.

Janelle, a caregiver at Holland Home, sought help after she was briefly hospitalized and unable to work. Her success coach helped to ensure that payroll and human resources applied all of Janelle’s hours from two locations to qualify her for a bonus. However, her bonus was delayed, and rent was due immediately. Janelle applied for an ERN hardship and savings loan, and, in the process, conducted an income analysis and developed a budget. Ultimately, she was able to pay her rent.

ERNs nationwide saw an 807% return on investment in 2025, which reflects employer ERN investments versus turnover costs. The average cost of a success coach “share,” which is four hours onsite each week for the year, is $12,000-$15,000 for 2026, depending on the local cost of living and location. There is no cost to the employee.

Doug Himmelein, EVP of human resources and operations at Holland Home (pictured, at right), attests to the approach’s success: “We established ERN to help our employees balance their competing priorities at work and at home, supporting them as they navigate the complex nature of caregiving jobs.”

Himmelein noted that hiring and training a nurse aide costs around $4,000, and the program pays for itself if it results in the retention of five workers. The ERN is achieving strong retention results—high risk-employees who work with the success coach have a lower turnover rate than Holland Home’s overall turnover rate.

“Our team members are excelling, reaching their goals and living better lives because of this support,” Himmelein said. “This has been a successful program.”