Project Description Narrative:
A healthy Wisconsin requires a sufficient, diverse, competent and sustainable health workforce. The public's health is dependent upon an adequate supply of personnel in all health settings. For years, health care analysts and economists have been predicting massive and growing shortages of health workers in the United States, yet Wisconsin has not conducted a comprehensive information-gathering process regarding the status and future of the health occupations around the state.
In addition, health professions educational programs, employers, and public agencies across the state have been unable to obtain workforce data and labor market projections adequate to inform decisions regarding the preparation, retention, and distribution of a sufficient workforce. Current estimates in Wisconsin base estimates for future shortages on relatively small sample sizes and have been mostly limited to the nursing profession, and efforts to gather and analyze data on labor markets and distribution of health professionals are uneven and uncoordinated.
The goal of this project is to address the health workforce shortage threatening our most vulnerable communities by providing the data collection and forecasting critically needed for workforce planning.
Community partners: Center on Wisconsin Strategy, LeadingAge Wisconsin, Marquette University, Rural Wisconsin Health Collaborative, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System, Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers, Wisconsin Center for Nursing (WCN), Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS)-Division of Public Health (DPH), Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Wisconsin Health Care Association, Wisconsin Hospital Association, Wisconsin Medical Society, Wisconsin Nurses Association, Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, Wisconsin Public Health Association, Wisconsin Primary Care Association, Wisconsin Technical College System, Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin