Healthcare Personnel Shortage Key Points

• Washington is experiencing a severe shortage of health care workers across many professions ranging from dental hygienists and pharmacists to nurses and radiology technologists. The shortage is occurring in all areas of the state.

• The health care worker shortage is not just a recruitment issue—there is a lack of educational capacity for health care programs. Qualified students are being turned away. There is a shortage of available, qualified faculty.

• Demographics indicate the shortage will become more severe. In 2000, Washington had 662,000 people over the age of 65, by 2020, that number is expected to grow to 1.22 million

• The health care industry is vital to the economy of Washington. The health care industry provides over $6.2 billion in wages annually.

• Washington has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Effective health care worker recruitment and training programs could help lower unemployment while addressing the health care worker shortage.

• There is a lack of diversity in the health care workforce. This exacerbates health disparities among ethnically diverse populations. Ethnically diverse populations are also the fastest growing labor pool in the state.

• The Task Force represents all sectors that are impacted by this problem—health care employers and employees, labor, state agencies and education and training providers.

• One of the Task Force’s goals is to empower local communities to provide local solutions.

• To effectively address the problem we have to:

• Increase number of people entering health care professions
• Increase capacity of health care education/training programs
• Modify state regulations/statutes to alleviate barriers
• Consider rural health care workforce issues
• Increase the racial and ethnic diversity of health care workers

• The Task Force’s plan Health Care Personnel Shortage: Crisis or Opportunity? contains specific strtegies and implementation recommendations on both a statewide and local level.

• The Task Force’s annual reports to the Legislature indicate progress to date in implementing the plan