200 Pa. Orgs Support Health Care Workforce Council

July 17, 2023

Pennsylvania has an opportunity to build the health care talent workforce of the future to support communities across the commonwealth.

This month, HAP and a coalition of more than 200 Pennsylvania organizations are calling for the creation of a new Governor’s Office of Health Workforce Innovation and Reform. The call to action comes as Pennsylvania is facing a projected deficit in less than three years of nearly 280,000 health care workers, and the largest shortage of nurses in the nation.

The new government office would build off recent efforts from the Shapiro administration that have supported the health care workforce, such as addressing the backlogs in professional licensing applications and a plan to modernize the state’s licensing system for clinicians and other licensed professionals.

“Your administration has an opportunity to join other states in establishing a Governor-led effort to develop strategies to address the commonwealth’s short-term and long-term health care workforce; assess current and projected workforce needs; establish a health care data center; coordinate workforce-related policies, programs, and initiatives across agencies; and facilitate the talent pipeline of a diverse and culturally competent workforce,” the coalition letter said.

The workforce council initiative was one of the core recommendations from HAP and its Health Care Talent Task Force in their workforce roadmap that was released earlier this year.

HAP continues to highlight Pennsylvania’s severe health care workforce crisis, while calling for solutions that:

• Prioritize health care talent infrastructure
• Support health care workers
• Strengthen the health care community

Learn more about HAP’s workforce priorities. 

For more information, contact Jeffrey Bechtel, senior vice president, health economics and policy.