Focus Area: Workforce Development

Overview

Workforce needs in healthcare and allied health positions is at a crisis point. Doctors, nurses and other health and social care workers are in short supply across WNC and the state. According to the Mountain Areas Health Education Center:

  • All 16 WNC counties are primary care health professional shortage areas

  • Only 3 out of 5 adults in WNC had a dental visit in the past year

  • 8 WNC counties have no practicing general psychiatrist

  • 7 WNC counties have no practicing ob/gyns

The HPI is committed to developing and supporting pathways for people from WNC to train and succeed in these careers, addressing contributing issues such as childcare, housing and other SDOH, and exploring policy solutions to allow providers to optimize their scope of practice and have access to reimbursement models that are more financially and administratively sustainable.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WORK GROUPS AND PRIORITIES

Early Childhood Education Cliff

For many parents in WNC and across the state, finding safe, adequate and affordable childcare can be nearly impossible. Since 2020, there has been a net decrease of ~280 childcare facilities (approx. a 5% decrease in programs) across the state, and the North Carolina Child Care Resource and Referral Council projects an approximate 30% closure of remaining facilities if support funding is not approved by the NC General Assembly by the end of 2024.

This looming “childcare cliff” puts all WNC families — including our vital healthcare workforce — at risk of lost wages, increased financial hardship, cost-cutting in vital expenses such as food, housing, and healthcare to make ends meet, and work-related burnout due to lost staffing. It also creates negative impacts that ripple out across all sectors in the community, from business and education to healthcare and economic development, as working parents make the hard decision to either withdraw from the workforce to care for their children, or are forced to piece together inadequate, unreliable and even potentially unsafe care outside of regulated and certified child care providers - potentially putting those children at risk of abuse, illness, injury or even death.

Given the emergency status of this issue, our Workforce Development team is currently focused on working with policymakers to ensure short-term continued funding of to support the failing childcare system, with an eye to creating longer-term sustainable solutions once that situation has stabilized.

2024-2025 Priorities and Objectives

Short-Term –

  • Identifying short-term collective efforts to enhance existing workforce staffing of childcare crisis and ECE cliff, including:

    • Working collaboratively with regional advocates to create a united front and cohesive messaging to the NC General Assembly

    • Explore alternative financial and structural models of child care to replace the currently fragmented, failing system

  • Quantify workforce needs and capacity of region

Longer-Term – More plans into action with legislative support for workforce expansion focusing on healthcare and frontline public workforce (including but not limited to CHWS ->considering retention, care, culture.