Health Care Personnel Shortage Task Force

The goal of the Health Care Personnel Shortage Task Force is to address the severe current and projected shortages of health care personnel in Washington State. The Task Force has 20 members, representing business, labor, education, and government. The Task Force outlines and regularly updates a strategic plan with actions for the Legislature, state and local agencies, educators, labor, health care industry employers, and workers should take to close the gap. In 2003, the Legislature passed Engrossed Senate House Bill 1852 directing the Workforce Board to continue convening the Task Force, to monitor progress on the state plan and to the Legislature annually.

Progress 2007 Report Part 1- Annual Progress Report Part 2 - Updated Strategic Plan Part 3 - Performance Measures

The Task Force holds public meetings at least twice a year to oversee progress on achieving the goals and strategies of the plan. Progress is tracked through outcome measures.

What is the Task Force plan for addressing health care personnel shortages?

The Task Force plan outlines six goals:

Increase educational capacity and efficiency in health care training programs to enable more people to gain qualification to work in health care occupations.
Recruit more individuals, especially targeted populations, into health care occupations and promote adequate preparation prior to entry.
Develop a data collection and analysis system to assess health workforce supply and demand.
Retain current health care workers.
Enable local communities to implement strategies to alleviate the health care personnel shortage in their areas.
Develop a mechanism to ensure continued collaboration among stakeholders, track progress, create accountability for fulfilling this plan, and to plan for future health workforce needs.

See the report for a full list of 40 strategies, entities responsible for carrying them out, and 16 outcome measures.

What are Task Force priorities?

Project the future demand for health care personnel
Plan for the future to avoid shortages or an oversupply
Recruit diverse populations to specific professions

Does the Task Force report to the Legislature?

Yes, state statute passed in 2003 (ESHB 1852) requires that the task force report its progress annually to the Governor and Legislature.

When does the Task Force meet?

The Task Force holds meetings at least twice a year to oversee progress on the state plan. Additional meetings will be held as needed.

Who Can Attend Task Force Meetings?

Any interested party may come and observe Task Force meetings. There will be space for about 40 audience members at each meeting.

How does the Task Force connect to local Skill Panels?

Since 2000, the Workforce Board has issued grants to support industry skill panels for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness for industries that are key to a local region’s economy. Health care is considered such an industry and there are health care skill panels in each of the state’s 12 workforce development areas. While health skill panels are not always solely responsible for activities that eliminate health workforce shortages, they play a pivotal role and are often the catalyst.