By Healthcare Facilities Today

Workforce shortages in healthcare due to the expected retirement of older workers and an increased need for services thanks to an aging population are expected in the not-too-distant future. This will create an unprecedented demand for talent supply chains to fill occupations in this industry, including for frontline workers, according to a blog in The Huffington Post. 

How can we prepare the frontline healthcare workforce to meet this impending demand? The answer, according to Jan Hunter, director for CareerSTAT and National Fund for Workforce Solutions, is by investing in the skills and career development of these workers today.

"If you've entered a hospital lately, whether for a routine medical test or complex surgical procedure, you might think that nurses or doctors would provide most of your care. In fact, the reality is that frontline workers — ranging from phlebotomists to medical assistants, certified nursing assistants to housekeeping staff — play a vital, yet often overlooked, role in the quality of patient care. What is surprising is that despite performing these important jobs, frontline workers in healthcare typically earn less than $40,000 each year and may not be getting the support they need to advance in their careers," Hunter wrote.

Those healthcare employers that already invest in the skills and career development of their frontline staffs are reaping the rewards of such an investment, according to the blog. They report lower staff turnover and vacancy rates, reduced recruitment costs and needed orientation time, as well as increased employee morale and motivation. More importantly, they are seeing improved patient care and a competitive advantage.

CareerSTAT, a national collaboration of healthcare leaders, has been created and is being led by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and its implementation and operational partner, Jobs for the Future. This initiative is working to bring attention to the need for healthcare employers to invest in the skills and career development of their frontline workforce, and to share information about best practices.

CareerSTAT is launching an annual "Frontline Healthcare Worker Champions" program that will recognize those employers making significant workforce development opportunities available to their frontline staff, including coaching or employee mentoring, tutoring, release time for training at work, payment of tuition benefits and credit-bearing academic courses that lead to a certificate or degree.


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Read the blog.