Economic Impact on Healthcare Workforce

Greetings with our first blog from the Workforce Division at the Foundation!  I am Sally Williams, the Workforce Center Director, and I will be sharing Healthcare Workforce happenings and initiatives at the Foundation.  The snow slowed down the North Texas area this past week, but things are picking up with Workforce Planning at the Foundation.

On January 27, we hosted an educational event with our sponsor OrcaEyes – Economic and Demographic Outlook for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Implications for Healthcare Workforce Planning.  Our speaker was Bernard Weinstein, Associate Director, Maguire Energy Institute.  After Dr. Weinstein spoke, he joined a panel that included Neil McCormick, General Manager, with Talent2; Dr. Jac Fitz-enz, Author, Founder of the Saratoga Institute; and Master Burnett, Managing Director of Dr. John Sullivan and Associates.  The panel focused on what will be our future healthcare workforce needs and factors influencing our planning.  Quite a lively discussion!

Dr. Weinstein’s presentation:  DFWHC Foundation Presentation 1_27_11

The meeting also kicked off the DFWHC Foundation Regional Workforce Planning Initiative.  We have 3 hospital systems joining together to use a web based On Demand Workforce Planning and Business Intelligence Solution with our technology partner, OrcaEyes.  This will not only help the systems and their hospitals, but will also look at regional benchmark information that can inform our educational partners of the future needs in healthcare workforce.  Educational institutions will be able to plan their training programs to provide the right workforce at the right time for the hospitals in our region.  As hospitals expand, they will be able to anticipate their workforce needs.  As our population continues to grow and age, ensuring we have the right healthcare at the right time is critical!

Look for more on this initiative as we move along with the project.  If you are interested in finding out more about the project – contact us.

To quote the wise Winston Churchill – “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”