An accessible, well-trained and flexible health care workforce is vital to governors to improve the health of residents, control cost and accelerate economic development within the state. An adequate workforce is critical to ensuring that care is safe, of high quality and available and affordable across a state. Governors are pursuing strategies to build and sustain capacity for a thriving health care workforce.
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices health care workforce planning includes assisting states with data collection and analysis, policy coordination, recruitment and retention and health care workforce redesign. Strategies included accessing health workforce data sources (such as licensure data and all-payer claims databases), aligning education and training outcomes with population health needs, increasing diversity and cultural competency, removing barriers to entry for new professionals moving to the state, maximizing health technology to reach populations in rural and underserved areas and integrating mental/behavioral health and oral health care with primary and acute care.
NGA Resources:
- Health Workforce Policy Academy Meeting Building a Transformed Health Care Workforce: Moving from Planning to Implementation Kickoff Meeting
- NGA Health Workforce Development Closing Meeting
- States to Focus on Health Care Workforce
- Role of Nurse Practitioners in Meeting Increasing Demand for Primary Care
- The Role of Dental Hygienists in Providing Access to Oral Health Care
- The Role of Physician Assistants in Health Care Delivery
- States Work to Improve Access to Basic Oral Health Care
External Resources