It is the source of sleepless nights for many a health care administrator. Recent shortages of crucial frontline healthcare workers will grow steadily more acute as recently enacted government reform promises to create more than 31 million additional consumers, and demographic shifts ensure a surge in demand for health care services among America's elderly. Traditional training approaches have failed to deliver an adequate pipeline of skilled frontline health care workers.

This multimedia series, Employer Perspectives, spotlights examples of forward-thinking health care enterprises that have realized a clear return on investment by rethinking traditional approaches to health care worker recruitment, training and advancement.

Here at the Hitachi Foundation we believe that business has a pivotal role to play in addressing global challenges, none of which are more urgent right now than creating economic opportunities for all. Our Pioneer Employers Project seeks to demonstrate how some companies can help lower-wealth Americans achieve upward mobility while also creating impressive returns for shareholders, customers, or patients  – even when times are tough. These organizations have all enjoyed impressive success in recent years, but they also go one step further: they are all great places to work – particularly for people who can all too often find themselves stuck in dead-end jobs.