As the shortage of healthcare workers continues to affect medical centers across the United States, cities in Texas have already begun to feel its effects.

The local impact

According to data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, the number of Certified Nurse Aids, or CNAs, has declined by 37% over the last decade in Bexar County.

This is an issue that entrepreneur Barb Clapp said she wants to see disappear, as she launched Dwyer Workforce Development, or DWD, into the San Antonio area in July 2025.

It’s a nationwide nonprofit organization focused on providing career paths to underserved populations in the healthcare industry.


Aiming for CNA positions, the program has partnered with educational institutions and medical facilities across Bexar County.

About the organization

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Clapp said she saw a need to expand across the country as the shortage of medical workers has increased.

“We’re really focusing on communities that need a boost,” Clapp said. “Mainly, these are areas that are low-income with not much room for opportunity or growth.”


So far, DWD has expanded from Maryland into Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Upstate New York, Kansas, cities like Houston, Dallas and Brownsville and now, San Antonio.

How it works

Clapp said DWD sticks out compared to other development programs because it includes wraparound services like emergency funds and utilizes a person-to-person, case management system.

“I wanted to have these comprehensive services and person-centered case management,” Clapp said. “It’s the best way to give people a path to generational wealth.”


To sign up for the program, Clapp said it’s as easy as filling out an application on the DWD website.

From there, participants become Dwyer Scholars and begin a four-step, nonlinear program that guides them through training while beginning their first job as a CNA or other healthcare professional.

Mapping it out

In the San Antonio area, their biggest education partner is the Southern Careers Institute, Clapp said.


Thus, the inaugural class of around 20 aspiring healthcare workers began their training this summer in the Alamo City.

“We’re really starting to dig into San Antonio,” Clapp said.

In the future, Clapp hopes to continue her expansion, eyeing areas like the Midwest to get even more people opportunities to have successful, rewarding careers.

“Our goal is to train 100,000 Dwyer Scholars by 2030,” Clapp said.