The Richmond Times Dispatch wrote about a pilot program to fill health care professional jobs and spoke with VHCA-VCAL President and CEO Keith Hare about workforce shortages facing the long term care sector.

The story reports:

The health care workforce shortage could be hard to solve because of its dependence on government funding.

For example, Virginia nursing homes estimate they have lost about 9,100 employees, or 11.6% of their workforce, since the beginning of the pandemic, which hit them first and hardest.

“It’s as bad as it’s ever been,” said Keith Hare, president and CEO of the Virginia Health Care Association, representing most nursing homes in the state.

Hare acknowledges the industry has to improve pay and expand benefits for workers to attract and keep them, but he said nursing homes cannot do it without higher reimbursements from Virginia’s Medicaid program, which pays them less than the cost of care.

“That’s something we absolutely have to tackle,” he said.

The story discusses various bills and budget proposals to create a role for a Special Advisor to the Governor for Health Workforce Development and funding for economic development initiatives to address workers shortages in health fields. VHCA-VCAL supports this new initiative.

Read the full article: ‘Stop the bleeding’: Petersburg schools part of partnership to fill jobs, offer careers in behavioral health (Richmond.com, February 13, 2022)