Hey {{first_name|there}} 👋
Four weeks of training. $43,660 median pay. Your employer might already cover it.
That's the fastest career pivot open to you. Plus: California CNAs cross $25/hour on July 1, and CMS just reminded every facility they cannot charge you for your own training.
Let's get into it.
THE PAY CHECK
Money, wages, and what you’re worth.
California CNAs are about to hit $25/hour, if their employer qualifies
Starting July 1, 2026, California's health care minimum wage at the largest hospital systems, dialysis clinics, and LA County facilities jumps from $24 to $25/hour. Skilled nursing facilities operated by those large systems (10,000+ full-time employees) are covered at the same rate. CNAs aren't named by title but fall under the broad "health care services" definition.
Everyone else in California is on a slower track. Most other facilities move from $21 to $23/hour on July 1, with no path to $25 until 2028. CNAs at a standalone SNF or smaller hospital are on that lower tier. Wage floors are moving, just unevenly, and almost nobody tells you which bucket you're in.
Your move: if you work in California, find out which tier your employer falls into before July 1. The CA DIR's Health Care Worker Minimum Wage FAQ has the qualifying employer list. If you qualify and still make less than $25/hour on July 2, that's a conversation with HR. Outside California, watch your state — tiered healthcare wage floors tend to spread.
SHIFT REPORT
What’s happening in CNA world this week.
CMS: your facility cannot charge you for training
A new CMS memo issued April 8 reminds facilities that CNAs who are employed or have a job offer cannot be charged for training, materials, testing, or registry fees. The same memo loosens where training can happen (hospitals and vocational settings now count), who can teach (RNs or LPNs with adult-teaching experience), and allows remote options for written exams and skills observation. If you were billed for training through a facility employer, this is your ammo to ask for a refund.
CMSState by state, home care wages are moving up
Wage floors for direct care workers have moved up in multiple states this year, a trend worth tracking if you pick up home care shifts on the side or you're considering a switch. New York: $19.65/hour in NYC, LI, and Westchester, $18.65/hour elsewhere. Pennsylvania put $21 million toward $1 to $5/hour raises for about 8,500 direct care workers. Colorado's Denver rate is $19.29/hour. Know yours before you sign an offer.
LeadingAge NY · MyChesCo (PA)
FROM THE FLOOR
Real talk from the job.
The first code
A new CNA posted last week about losing their first patient during their first code. First code, first job in healthcare, fresh off orientation. They did compressions. The patient didn't come back.
They wrote that they blacked out during the code. All they remember is being scared and doing the thing they were trained to do. They're asking the internet how you come back from something like that.
The honest answer from everyone who's done this job long enough: that feeling doesn't fully go away. You carry the first one. It's the one that teaches you what this work actually is. If you haven't lost a patient yet, you will at some point — and it won't feel how you expect. Give yourself grace when it does.
What was your first loss, and who was with you?
YOUR MOVE
Career paths, certifications, and what comes next.
CNA to phlebotomist: the fastest pivot you can make
Phlebotomy is the shortest and cheapest career switch available to CNAs. Four to eight weeks of training, $700 to $3,000, and median pay of $43,660/year versus about $40,000 for CNAs (BLS, May 2024). That's a modest bump of roughly $3,700. Most CNAs who switch don't do it for the money. They do it for the day: CNAs spend hours on direct care, phlebotomists spend minutes on one procedure and move on, often on weekday business hours at outpatient labs, dialysis clinics, or donor centers.
California, Washington, Nevada, and Louisiana require an extra state license and 12 to 16 weeks of training. Everywhere else, you sit for a national certification like the NHA CPT. The thing most CNAs miss: your employer may already pay for it. Hospitals, dialysis chains, Quest, LabCorp, and donor centers (Red Cross, Vitalant, BioLife) routinely train CNAs on staff because you already have the clinical instincts and patient comfort.
Your move: read the full breakdown below, then ask your employer whether they sponsor phlebotomy training before you pay a cent out of pocket.
BREAK ROOM
You’ve earned a laugh.
The call light dance
It's 2:47 PM. Room 14's call light has been blinking for four minutes. You're elbow-deep in a brief change in room 22. The nurse is at the station. Nobody is moving.
A meme we came across sums it up.
What's the line you hold back every shift? Hit reply.
That's your brief for this week. Back in your inbox next Wednesday.
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See you next week
The CNA Brief
A publication of thecnaguide.com