How To Train Health Care Workers In Connecticut

Transcription

1 New and Existing Pathways to Emerging Health Careers CT Learns & Works Conference May 14, 2010 Panelists: Alice Pritchard (CWEALF) Kimberly Kalajainen (Lawrence & Memorial Hospital) Marcia Jehnings (Manchester Community College)

2 Health Care Workforce Trends & Implications of Health Care Reform Alice Pritchard Executive Director Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) Hartford, CT

3 The Connecticut Allied Health Workforce Policy Board Established in Public Act (An Act Concerning Allied Health Workforce Needs) to conduct research and planning activities related to the allied health workforce.

4 According to USDOL Health care jobs will increasingly move to nonhospital settings. 13% hospitals vs. 55% home health care The demand for health care jobs will continue to escalate.

5 CT Data and Trends for 2016 vs Registered Nurses projected 38,560 jobs (17.4% increase). Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) projected to increase by 13.1% to 9,070 jobs. Nurse aides, orderlies and attendants projected 27,590 jobs (11.9% increase). Medical assistants are expected to increase to 6,520 jobs, a 30.7% increase. Cardiovascular Technologists And Technicians 25.4% Pharmacy Technicians 28.7% Physician Assistants 18.1% Home Health Aides 25.4% Surgical Technologists 17.3% Medical Records/Health Information Technicians 12.3%.

6 CHA Vacancy Data Vacancy rate information shows continued shortages for: Registered Nurses Unlicensed Assistive Personnel Radiologic Technologists Nuclear Medicine Technologists Respiratory Therapists Pharmacists Physical Therapists Medical Records Coders Surgical Technologists

7 Faculty Staffing Plan Data Findings: Allied health worker shortages exist in 15 (44%) of the 34 identified career areas. Clinical/Medical Laboratory Technician Health Info/Medical Records Technician Radiation Therapist Cardiovascular Therapist Physical Therapist Assistant Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Ultrasound Technician Respiratory Care Therapist Occupational Therapist Nuclear Medicine Technologist

8 Faculty Staffing Plan Data Findings continued: Connecticut schools produced more workers than needed for 19 areas (approx. 56%). Radiographer Physical Therapist Physician Assistant Nursing Assistant

9 Faculty Staffing Plan Data Findings continued: Licensed practical nurse, appear to produce an adequate supply of professionals on an 18 month rather than 12 month cycle. Registered nurse, appear to produce an adequate supply but data collected includes RNs at all degree levels without clarity on how many provide direct care vs. administration, etc.

10 Health Information Technology (HIT) Kim Kalajainen Vice President and Chief Information Officer Lawrence & Memorial Hospital New London, CT

11 Agenda The Obama Administration s HIT Focus HIT Trends HIT Workforce Projections Case Study: Lawrence & Memorial Hospital

12 The Obama Administration s HIT Focus The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (signed into law February 17, 2009) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology ($2B) Medicaid and Medicare Incentive Payments for electronic health record (EHR) adoption ($46.8B netted down to $17.2B) between Achieving meaningful use of HIT Using a certified EHR Exchange information between care providers Report quality measures

13 2009* 1.0% 2009* 3.6% L&M * Per article in Healthcare Informatics, December 2009

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21 HIT Workforce Projections An additional 40,000 IT workers will be required to achieve the benefits of health IT. Dr. William Hersh, professor and chair of the Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University Preparing for an IT Talent Squeeze (Oct 2009) by Charlotte Huff IT employers take note: The federal government s tight time frame for computerization, along with a steep implementation curve, will require more IT workers for health care organizations soon. Job projections range from at least 41,000 positions to more than 200,000. Health IT funding to create 50,000 jobs (April 30, 2010) By ComputerWorld, Lucas Mearian; released on Bloomberg Businessweek Federal dollars being pumped into grant programs to spur students to enter IT careers in the health care industry should help to create between 45,000 and 50,000 jobs over the next five years, a top federal health official said on Thursday.

22 Case Study Lawrence & Memorial Hospital (L&M) 49 FTEs with 5 open positions support: 4,400+ end-users 1,700+ personal computers 240+ information systems 104+ interfaces the vast majority are real-time 263+ servers 8 hardware platforms/operating systems Across 22 separate and distinct physical locations With 150+ IT projects for our current physical year

23 Summary of Skill Sets Hardware Infrastructure PCs, Servers, Storage, Network, Telecommunications Business Applications Revenue Cycle & General Financials Business Intelligence Clinical Applications Electronic Health Record Ancillary solutions such as RPACS, CPACS, Lab, Pharmacy Specialty Technologies Database Administration Interface Development Leadership Project Management Personnel Managmeent

24 Recruitment Initiatives Heavily rely on search firms for experienced hires Partnerships with Schools Internships Job shadowing Career Day Career exploration presentations The Work For It Summer Youth Employment program Funded by the Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board (EWIB) Internship program Youths work 25 hours a week for five weeks and are exposed to various fields within healthcare Youths also complete 40 hours of online course work prior to the program in order to be eligible for placement at the hospital

25 Role of Community Colleges in Health Care Education Marcia Jehnings Director of Mathematics, Science and Health Careers Manchester Community College Manchester, CT

26 Trends in Allied Health Education Moving from hospital based to college based programs Colleges providing clinical training Higher cost of training Slow to develop new programs

27 Changes in Health Care Education Use of different delivery methodologies Online, part time, weekend, nontraditional semesters, short duration training Competition with for profit educational settings Increasing educational requirements for health care practitioners

28 Areas of Growth in Health Care Education Mental Health and Substance Abuse Chronic Disease Management and Rehabilitation Dental Care Preventative and Wellness Care Health Information Technology

29 Challenges to Providing Health Care Education Complicated contractual agreements with clinical sites Hospital and clinical requirements Access to technology Accreditation requirements Explosion of information/expertise required

30 2010 AWHPB Legislative Recommendations Alice Pritchard Executive Director Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) Hartford, CT

31 Recommendation 1: Develop a State Strategic Health Care Workforce Plan Identify the gap between demand and supply and the capacity of the state s colleges, universities and other training providers to educate the needed workforce. Outline how the barriers to career advancement will be addressed to ensure state investments in training are efficient and effective. Include a broad range of health care occupations and build off of and incorporate other planning efforts that have taken place in the past such as the Hospital Task Force and the current planning under the SustiNet Board s Workforce Taskforce.

32 Recommendation 2: Provide Student Support Services & Academic Remediation The resources for these supports should be included in future state appropriations for public educational institutions to ensure student success. The legislature should authorize the use of state financial aid provided to the state s public and private colleges and universities for students who are pursuing non-credit certificate programs in our state s training programs.

33 Recommendation 3: Coordinate Statewide Allied Health Outreach Campaign A coordinated, statewide outreach campaign designed with input from all stakeholders, including AHEC, the Nursing Career Center, One Stop Career Centers and the state s secondary and postsecondary institutions is recommended. This campaign should include general marketing of nursing and allied health careers, training for teachers and guidance counselors, and information and career counseling for parents and students, particularly minority students, on career opportunities and the location of, and educational requirements for allied health programs. Current funding in each of these agencies budgets can be leveraged to start this effort.

34 Recommendation 4: Invest In New Faculty Nearly every Connecticut degree program within nursing and allied health is vulnerable to current, or anticipated, faculty shortages. Where sufficient faculty exists, it is recognized that securing replacements will be difficult. It is therefore in the best interests of the state to create a proactive plan to develop instructor talent and provide the resources to prepare more professionals to become faculty members. Connecticut should provide Scholarship-for-Service opportunities for graduate level education to colleges and universities to support expansion of these new scholarship models. These resources will help the state meet its need for health care faculty and ensure we are able to continue training the future workforce.

35 Recommendation 5: Expand Allied Health and Nursing Programs In order to meet the demand for health care professionals, the state must expand its program offerings at the secondary, postsecondary, and graduate degree levels. In addition, new training opportunities for students and faculty need to be developed in online and simulated formats to promote greater access to education programs. It is imperative that the faculty resources allocated in the 2010 budget to the state s colleges and universities be maintained to support the expansion of nursing and allied health programs to meet state workforce demands.

36 Recommendation 6: Support Employer-sponsored Training It is recommended that current state investments in summer youth employment be maintained to support the paid health care internships that have been developed statewide. Furthermore, the state must continue its current investment for incumbent worker training through the Department of Labor and Workforce Investment Boards in order to support the continued viability of hospitals, medical offices and laboratories, and longterm care facilities. Thank You!

37 New and Existing Pathways to Emerging Health Careers CT Learns & Works Conference May 14, 2010 To access this PowerPoint presentation electronically, please visit the Conference website: