STARTUP SOLUTIONS

Kayla Wright-Jackson founded Transition, a tech platform that is helping to fill muchneeded front-line health care roles.

By Cory Phare / Photo by Alyson McClaran

Kayla Wright-Jackson had moved to Atlanta to lead the human resources department at a home health organization when she recognized a disconnect: Employers were having a hard time recruiting and retaining certified nursing assistants, or CNAs.

So Wright-Jackson co-founded Transition, a tech platform built to bridge the gap between vocational training and employment opportunities and help fill entry-level front-line roles such as CNAs and medical assistants, who are responsible for 85% of direct patient care.

“These health care training providers produce over 70% of the health care workforce but are overlooked,” said the 2019 graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Master of Health Administration program. “Without the right tools and resources, it is challenging to reach future talent from the start.”

Current health care vocational programs run three to eight weeks from start to finish. As a platform for recruiters, Transition fills a critical role by helping organizations partner with top training providers to recruit their students and provide sponsorship opportunities. Training providers are often in areas without the infrastructure to directly support students with financial assistance and employment opportunities.

Wright-Jackson, who was recently included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Local list for Atlanta, tapped former MSU Denver classmate Katrina Chaffin to become Transition’s chief operating officer.

“I saw firsthand how the workforce was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, exacerbating this lack of support for students (who want to get) into the field,” Chaffin said. “(This role) was a great opportunity to reconnect (with WrightJackson) for such a great mission.”

Chaffin, an affiliate faculty member in MSU Denver’s Department of Health Professions, noted the fast-paced growth of Transition. Since launching in 2021, the company has helped more than 1,300 students from 27 training schools and 62 employers across Georgia, Texas, Colorado and Missouri, with plans to expand to the more than 12,000 training schools nationwide. The organization has already received a plethora of accolades for its work.

Along with co-founder Corey Shaw, Transition’s chief technology officer, the team members face a daunting task of providing care to rural communities and 71 million aging baby boomers at already short-staffed facilities. But these change-making Roadrunners are ready to rise to the challenge.