The Alvin Glick Foundation has announced grants totaling $8 million to initiatives supporting healthcare workforce development in central Michigan.

The gift was inspired by the care Alvin Glick, founder of Alro Steel, received in his final weeks of life at the Henry Ford Jackson Hospital. Hospital officials said Glick became aware of the great need for a healthcare workforce pipeline in Jackson and directed his family and foundations to bring together community collaborators to develop a plan to address it. Grants of $1.5 million each will be awarded to Jackson College and Spring Arbor University (SAU). The remaining $5 million will be given to Henry Ford Hospital. All grants will support workforce development initiatives at each institution, including an accelerated nursing program at SAU and the creation of a medical simulation center at Jackson College. The Henry Ford Hospital plans to use the grant to start a scholarship endowment for future healthcare workers.

“We were already well into planning and implementing a workforce initiative with community partners when we were given an opportunity to share our vision for healthcare careers in Jackson with the Glick family. We were thrilled when they asked us to submit a proposal to show the forecasted impact of our collaboration,” said Henry Ford Jackson Hospital human resources vice president Cindy Harrison. “Alro Steel’s generous endowment, along with our community partnerships, will empower us to transform the future of healthcare and economic development in Jackson, focused on creating a more diverse healthcare workforce that mirrors our local population.”

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