The dental safety net is a crucial component of the oral health care delivery system providing needed care for vulnerable populations. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are an important part of the dental safety net and serve underserved communities, delivering care to all patients, regardless of income or insurance status. Staffing levels, types of services…
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted long-standing trends in the US nursing workforce. After years of steady growth, the number of registered nurses (RNs) in the workforce declined in 2021 but rebounded in 2022 and 2023. Faced with RN shortages, financial strain, and rising patient acuity, hospital leaders adopted alternative staffing models during the pandemic. These models…
Local health departments play a critical role in promoting the overall health and well-being of communities across the country, and influxes of response-related funding and attention make it challenging to build and sustain a consistent and well-trained public health workforce. Local public health is increasingly being asked to do more for growing populations with diverse…
Understaffing is a chronic public health challenge. Ensuring a sustainable public health workforce requires innovative recruitment and retention strategies. Recommended strategies include holistic recruitment efforts in collaboration with community and academic partners, enhanced leadership training, staff compensation reviews, flexible work arrangements, and worker wellbeing initiatives. This article discusses the creation of the “Putting Our People…
The governmental public health workforce, especially in state and local health departments, is significantly short-staffed, and labor market competition for public health graduates and others with high-demand skills can make recruitment and retention challenging. While some research shows that public health workers generally earn less than those in similar jobs in other sectors, federal data…
Personal care aides (PCAs) provide essential assistance to individuals receiving home care, but their supply is increasingly limited. One key factor contributing to this shortage is the low wages these workers typically earn. While state policies have influenced PCA wages to some extent, another potential factor is self-direction (SD)—a model that allows home care recipients…
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemental health—including video and phone visits—became essential for delivering mental healthcare as in-person visits declined and demand increased. Regulatory and payment changes at both federal and state levels in the US enabled its rapid expansion, with usage rising from under 1% pre-pandemic to 39% of behavioral health visits between March and…
Each year, over 70,000 people with serious illnesses receive care in long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). Many are older, medically underserved, and have multiple health issues. Most aren’t on ventilators but need intensive treatments like wound care, IV therapy, or dialysis, and the average survival rate is just 8 months. Although palliative care could greatly…
The healthcare sector in the US, traditionally a source of stable employment, experienced significant workforce disruptions during the pandemic, with job losses and elevated exit rates, especially among women and Black and Hispanic workers. While concerns about workforce diversity persist, little is known about who is entering the field post-pandemic, despite renewed and growing demand…
Established by Congress in 1968, the Community Health Representative (CHR) Program provides outreach to address the specific healthcare needs of Tribal communities, predating the recognition of non-tribal Community Health Workers (CHWs). Aligned with the Indian Health Services (IHS) mandate to serve American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations, CHRs play a vital role in elder…
