Lawmakers discuss nationwide healthcare worker shortage

Kentucky — Leaders in Washington and Frankfurt are focusing on reported health care workforce shortages across the country.

In Washington, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing focused on the health care workforce shortage facing hospitals across the country.

“Despite all of our health care spending, we don’t have enough doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, mental health providers, and other medical professionals,” said Senator Bernie Sand, I-VT S said. in his opening remarks.

As committee chair, Sanders added, “This means that nearly 100 million of us are living in a primary care desert without immediate access to a doctor when they need it.”

Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, members of the Kentucky Hospital Association met with state lawmakers to discuss similar issues at the state level.

“There is a shortage of nursing, it’s a national shortage. Our hospitals have to compete with other states for nurses,” said Nancy Galvagni, president of the Kentucky Hospital Association.

A recent report from the group found that more than 22 percent of nurse positions in the state are unfilled.

“We produce a lot of nursing graduates. Unfortunately, many of those graduates are leaving our state. That really puts us at a disadvantage,” Galvagni explained. “Also, because we have so many government-insured patients and pay so little, it really hurts our ability to pay higher wages.”

In an interview with Spectrum News, Dr. Leslie Sizemore, through a state-funded program called the Healthcare Workforce Collaborative, said some of the most underserved areas are in rural areas of the state. Sizemore cites Far West Kentucky and Far East Kentucky as examples.

“A lot of students go to urban areas for their education, and they often stay there,” Sizemore explained. “They find hospitals where they’ve done internships and clinical rotations, where they feel comfortable, so often they don’t go back to their hometowns.”

The state expects to need more than 16,000 additional nurses by 2024, according to the Kentucky Healthcare Collaborative. This demand is driven by retirements, declining labor force participation and low birth rates. Their research shows that “the problem is compounded by the skills gap and the state’s below-average education rates.”

The Healthcare Workforce Collaborative is a group of university faculty, state leaders, and members of the healthcare sector who work to raise awareness of healthcare careers, improve access to college-level healthcare programs, and serve Kentucky public agencies Provide grants.