White House Earmarks $1 Billion for Health care Jobs
The Obama administration in November said it will allocate up to $1 billion through the Affordable Care Act to fund new health care jobs. Awards of $1 million to $30 million spread over three years will go to innovative projects "that implement the most compelling new ideas to deliver better health, improved care and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program … projects that focus on rapid workforce development will be given priority." Visit www.innovation.cms.gov.
Docs, Advanced Practice Providers tougher to recruit
Hospitals are having more difficulty filling open positions, the "2011 In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report" finds. At the end of 2010, more than one-third of open positions remained unfilled, a 22 percent increase over 2009, "which indicates that the physician shortage is no longer impending, it is here," the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters said. The findings are based on data of active physician and advanced practice provider searches conducted in 2010 by in-house recruiters employed by hospitals and other health care organizations. Sixty-three percent of all searches were new positions, not replacements. Primary care physicians were the most frequently recruited. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners were in higher demand than many specialties, including pediatrics and emergency medicine. Visit aspr.org.
Understanding our Future Workforce Needs
To understand what mix of health care workers will be required in the future, the nation needs more coordinated planning, improved data collection, and evidence-based scenarios, says an October study from the Bipartisan Policy Center. "The question for the American health care workforce is not whether there will be more jobs; the job growth in the health care industry will continue to rise," states the study conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. "Rather, the question is: What mix of health care professionals will best meet the demand for high-quality services?" Visit www.bipartisanpolicy.org.
Four Health systems named most Adoption-Friendly
Cape Fear Health System in Fayetteville, N.C., topped the list of adoption-friendly workplaces in health care compiled by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Other health care delivery organizations on the list: Affinity Health System based in Menasha, Wis.; Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, Kansas City, Mo.; and Children's Hospital and Health System in Milwaukee. For more information, visit www.DaveThomasFoundation.org.
