Emeritus Senior Living plans to hire 1,000 veterans, military spouses

With the unemployment rate for veterans significantly higher than that for the overall population, one of the nation's largest assisted living and memory care providers on Thursday announced plans to hire at least 1,000 former members of the military and military spouses over the next five years.

Emeritus Senior Living has launched the initiative to honor and assist veterans seeking employment as well as pay tribute to the many retired military residing at Emeritus. The company, which operates more than 470 senior living communities in 44 states, has a workforce of more than 30,000.

Emeritus claims the endeavor is the first such veteran recruiting program in America's senior living industry.

The January, 2013 jobless rate for all post-9/11 veterans was 11.7 percent, and military spouses are facing a 26-percent unemployment rate, reports Emeritus.

"We wish to show our proud support of the military by offering veterans and military spouses a career with Emeritus," said Granger Cobb, president and CEO of Emeritus Senior Living, in a statement. "We hope this initiative will be of value to those who have served our country. We know that their talent and commitment will be tremendously beneficial to our residents and our entire organization."

Emeritus has identified company positions that correlate to a variety of those in the armed forces, including dining services director, maintenance director, driver, resident care director, wellness nurse, medication technician, certified nursing assistant and a range of administrative positions.

Emeritus has established a website dedicated to veterans and military spouses seeking employment with the company. It includes general information on why Emeritus is a good fit for transitioning military and spouses along with testimonials from current Emeritus employee veterans.

Patricia Sheehan

Patricia Sheehan was Editor in Chief of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2010-2013. She is now manager, communications at Nestlé USA.