Workforce Development: Key to Addressing the Workforce Shortage

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Workforce Development Key to Addressing the
Workforce Shortage

• Jody Lynn Smith
• Director, Employee Relations and Employment
• MultiCare Health System
• Chair, Pierce County Health Services Career
  Council

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Workforce Development Council

• Community council of employers, schools and
  public service agencies
• Designed to oversee the job related services
  provided to county residents
• Matching the needs of the employers to workforce
  training programs

3
Pierce County Health Initiative

• Pierce Countys largest private employers are
  healthcare providers (MultiCare, Good Samaritan,
  Franciscian)
• Large governmental healthcare employers (Madigan,
  Western State, American Lake VA)
• Long Term Care providers (ManorCare, Ranier
  Vista, Tacoma Lutheran)
• All had shortages in key positions RN, LPN,
  Imaging, Lab, Pharmacy, HIS

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Addressing the Shortage

• Summer of 2000, WDC sets aside 300,000 for
  customized training
• May 2001, major healthcare employers join the
  initiative to form the Health Services Council
• Initially comprised of senior management from the
  3 major employers, education, labor, WDC and
  WorkSource

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Addressing the Shortage

• Strategic plans completed August 2001
• Marketing campaign coordinated with state and
  national efforts
• Expanding and enhancing training programs
• Developing career paths
• Acquiring funding

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Career Pathing

• MHS and WDC developed 3 initial career paths
• Surveyed employees in entry to mid level
  positions to determine interest and barriers to
  accessing the career paths
• Top barriers tuition costs, work schedules,
  information, ESL

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Addressing the Barriers

• Translated entry level task lists, competency
  assessments, etc. into common languages
• WorkSource Career Specialist
• Career guidance
• Negotiating work schedules
• Funding

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Addressing the Barriers Funding issues

• MHS employees with limited funds could not pay
  tuition costs up front
• MHS and WDC agreed to provide WIA funding for MHS
  employees who meet financial need levels MHS
  tuition reimbursement policy
• MHS reimburses WDC for WIA funds
• As of April 2002, 124,000 obligated to employees
  for continuing education in identified career
  paths

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More Barriers

• Educational institutions not providing training
  when employees could access
• Schools reported extreme difficulty in funding
  new programs, accessing clinical sites, hiring
  instructors

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Solutions

• Clover Park Technical College opens an evening
  LPN program
• MHS provides a Clinical Educator to instruct and
  subsidizes salary
• Health Council members strategize to provide
  access to new clinical sites
• Health Council members provide in kind services
  equivalent to 250,000
• MHS provides 35,000 grant to Tacoma Community
  College to support instructor funding

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Solutions

• Health Initiative members submit grant proposal
  to the State to expand Imaging programs
• Grant of 174,000 awarded in Fall of 2001
• Members enroll 20 students in Diagnostic, MRI and
  CT programs in January 2002

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Solutions

• Exploring methods to blend WIA, WtW, TANF funds
  to implement training programs
• Strategies to bridge high school students to
  healthcare careers
• Schools expanding existing NA-C programs to
  include the broader Pt Care Tech role, developing
  ESL NA-C classes
• Establishing a Unit Secretary apprenticeship
  program at MHS
• Working with MAMC to access existing training
  programs for civilian students

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Solutions

• Schools identified a need for clinical site
  coordination, especially in light of increasing
  capacity
• Health Initiative members submit and are awarded
  grant dollars to develop and fund a Clinical
  Training Site Coordinator
• Site Coordinator hired and working to develop
  web-based coordinating system, developing support
  programs for nursing students to reduce student
  attrition

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Solutions

• Grant and WDC funded marketing campaign to
  increase awareness of health care careers for
  high schools students
• Program includes TV commercials, interactive web
  site, posters, flyers
• Career Specialists targeting displaced workers
  for health care careers

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Key Factors to Success

• Partnership model
• Creative and innovative use of available funding
  from State, Federal and employers
• Flexibility of all partners in providing clinical
  sites, in kind services
• Flexibility of Educational Institutions in
  creating new programs