If you’ve had cause to schedule an appointment with a new doctor or specialist lately, you may have been informed you’re in for a long wait. In Hampton Roads and across the nation, a shortage of physicians and other health care workers is growing — and sometimes complicating the lives of patients.
The United States needs more than 200,000 more physicians to ensure access to health care in all communities, including those currently underserved, according to a recent analysis by the American Association of Medical Colleges. In a separate study, the group found that, even at current levels of access, the nation faces a shortage of 84,000 doctors by 2036.
At a recent health care summit in Richmond, more than 100 workforce development and education leaders called attention to the same growing needs in Virginia. George Mason’s University’s Center for Health Workforce has identified a statewide shortage of more than 17,000 registered nurses, 11,000 medical and human services managers, and thousands in other medical fields.
None of this is news to local universities, medical organizations and public health advocates in Hampton Roads, of course. Fortunately, they’re already taking significant steps to address the problem — one that’s likely going to need many more initiatives and civic and government investments to resolve.
In our region, the health care industry has 2,000 open nursing positions and thousands of vacancies in medical administration and related jobs, according to the Hampton Roads Workforce Council.
Using a state grant, the council recently initiated a new training program to ready individuals for a career in health care by helping them fund their education, obtain the necessary credentials and find those open positions.
Filling those positions is imperative, according to Andrew Nissmann, senior director of development and communication for the workforce council. If enough skilled workers aren’t found, he recently told WVEC-TV, “that impact is going to be felt directly by some of the most vulnerable communities here in Hampton Roads, in particular people with existing conditions, people who struggle to access health care already.”
Two of the region’s major universities are also undertaking an initiative to bring health care staffing to appropriate levels and address longtime inequities in access.
Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University recently joined forces to establish a Joint School of Public Health that, in tandem with ODU’s Eastern Virginia Medical School, will create two departments to offer degrees in public health fields.
ODU President Brian O. Hemphill said the programs will “provide a growing pipeline of health care leaders who are fully dedicated to building and maintaining healthy communities.” The partnership also will seek “to find solutions to improve wellness and health outcomes for everyone, especially in underserved communities,” according to NSU President Javaune Adams-Gaston.
At the state level, leaders at the health care summit in Richmond discussed the need for colleges to offer more workforce development programs in health care, perhaps capitalizing on the federal expansion of Pell Grants for training programs.
One model cited was laboratory schools championed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to draw colleges and universities to offer tuition-free programs in high-demand careers. Although the ODU-NSU venture is focused on four-year programs and beyond, it could generate ideas for filling open positions in other ancillary fields.
Bill Hazel, former Virginia health secretary and CEO of the summit’s sponsoring organization, Claude Moore Opportunities, said the state needs to create pathways for training — and spread the word that there’s a great need in the medical industry.
“There are rewarding and critically needed positions waiting to be filled throughout the health care system,” he said, “but too often people don’t know how to get the training and credentials they need, or face barriers that keep them out of the health care workforce.”
As one of the state’s medical hubs, Hampton Roads needs to continue rising to that challenge — and sharing and absorbing lessons from promising new initiatives here and around the state and country.
