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Home / Washington Business - March/April 2005 / Workforce Washington: Health Care Workers Needed |
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Workforce Washington: Health Care Workers Needed |
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Written On: March/April 2005 |
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Written By: By Mike Hudson |
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Washington’s health care crisis is not limited to escalating costs, reduced access and tort abuse; it also includes a shortage of a qualified health care workers. More than 8,000 health care jobs went unfilled in our state last year. Even worse, the demand for health care professionals will rise dramatically through 2020 due to our aging population. Currently the industry employs more than 207,000 people.
The standard of care depends on the skills of the person giving it. That standard is strained by an exploding population of retirees requiring long-term care. New advances in medical and biotechnology may improve care but are worthless if workers lack the skills to use them. The competition for the small number of training slots in our post-secondary schools discourages many willing students. Meanwhile, health care employers “steal” qualified workers from other providers, further driving up costs.
In 2002, the state Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board convened the Health Care Personnel Shortage Task Force. The task force drew from local, state and national experiences to develop a statewide plan. They found many factors contributing to the shortage, including lack of capacity in post-secondary institutions, the cost of obtaining training, and the lack of mandatory clinical rotations.
The board recommended creating 12 Health Care Skill Panels to address specific local shortages, one for each Workforce Development Council in the state. The WDCs were joined by colleges, universities, hospitals, clinics, long-term health care providers, organized labor and other health care employers.
Progress since 2003 includes:
• At least 2,000 additional students entering health care education.
• Training capacity has expanded by 559 full-time-equivalent students.
• The Center of Excellence in Allied Health at Yakima Valley Community College has developed a common-core program for several health care professions.
• Development of training programs for entry-level workers and bilingual/limited English-speaking populations.
• Expansion of clinical training site capacity.
• Upgraded training options such as licensed practical nurse to registered nurse using distance-learning programs.
• Web sites linking workers to the health care career pipeline.
• New radiological technology program offered by a consortium of community and technical colleges, hospitals and clinics in northwestern Washington.
Much remains to be done. In 2005, Health Care Skill Panels will continue expanding capacity in high-demand programs. At the same time, they will work to develop K-12 health care programs as part of the Health and Human Services Pathway to encourage future health care professionals. Data collected on the supply of health care practitioners will enable the targeting of educational resources to meet health workers needs, identify further skill gaps, and ensure the skills being trained are those most needed.
It costs approximately $175,000 per year to fund a Health Care Skills Panel. Continued funding will enhance its ability to implement effective solutions to meet local health workforce needs, which in turn meets local patient’s needs.
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