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The Business of Health Care Report
Today, we'll look at the serious workforce issues facing health care
and what's being done to address them. A headline this winter shouts, "Texas needs nurses." Another reads,
"Legislators join in health care plight." Clearly, the word is out. There is a very real workforce shortage in health
care. Although Texas needs to double the number of registered nursing graduates
within the next four years, the shortages aren't limited to the nursing profession. Pharmacists, radiology technologists,
respiratory and physical therapists and nurses aides all are in high demand - driven primarily by an aging baby boomer population
but also by a reduction in supply of health care workers. There simply aren't enough people to fill these jobs. And, with $3 billion worth of hospital building and expansion planned for
the Metroplex over the next several years, the demand for qualified health care workers will grow even more acute. Fortunately, everyone involved in the delivery of health care seems to be
on the same page on this one. My company, Texas Health Resources, supported state Senate Bill 572, the Nursing Shortage Reduction
Act of 2001, which seeks to increase enrollment in nursing schools and the number of nursing faculty. In addition, THR recruits
internationally; offers referral bonuses for employees, and provides scholarship funds to area colleges and universities to encourage
students to pursue health care as a profession. At THR, it's called "Building the Pipeline" and a key component is tuition
reimbursement - which helps pay for the education of employees, their spouses and dependents who pursue clinical degrees. What better
way to address the shortage than to "grow our own!" It's only part of the answer to a big problem, but it's a good place to
start. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO Doug
Hawthorne with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio
1080 KRLD.
©
2003 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 