A health care workforce shortage is looming and must be addressed.
That was the message delivered last week by Steven Wartman, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), in front of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
The message was right on target, said University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., who said UNMC fully supports what the AAHC is trying to do to in making the health care workforce shortage one of its top initiatives.
Dr. Wartman’s testimony came during a hearing titled "Workforce Issues in Health Care Reform: Assessing the Present and Preparing for the Future."
He presented the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the AAHC’s groundbreaking report, "Out of Order, Out of Time: The State of the Nation’s Health Workforce," and he emphasized the critical relationship of health workforce issues to health system reform.
The AAHC, Dr. Wartman said, urges policymakers to incorporate a new, integrated and coordinated approach to national workforce policy as health system reform is considered.
The AAHC also recommends the creation of a national health workforce planning body as the focal point of health workforce reform, he said.
UNMC, which is an AAHC member, stands firmly beside Dr. Wartman in his suggestions for policy makers, Dr. Maurer said.
"As a member of the AAHC, UNMC believes the nation must change how it makes and implements health workforce policy at the same time we reform the health care system, or the promise of health reform will be seriously undermined," Dr. Maurer said.
"Our current health workforce policy framework, established in a different era, has resulted in a patchwork of policies that are on the verge of being overwhelmed by powerful social and economic forces."
Dr. Maurer noted that Dr. Wartman’s message is consistent with work being done at the UNMC College of Public Health, where a study is underway to help the Nebraska confront the shortage of health care workers in the state.
"The nation is running out of time to establish a comprehensive, coordinated national health workforce policy that is capable of withstanding and meeting the challenge," Dr. Maurer said.
"UNMC supports the AAHC recommendation that the health workforce become a national priority policy issue, and that a new, collaborative, multi-stakeholder health workforce planning body be created with a mission to develop and implement comprehensive and coordinated national health workforce policy."
The AAHC, which is headquartered in Washington, DC, is a national non-profit association dedicated to advancing the nation’s health and well-being through leadership in health professions education, patient care and research.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.