SUFFOLK, Va. — Hampton Roads Workforce Council leaders said the region’s health industry needs help.
“Frankly, healthcare’s been knocking at the door asking when it’s their turn to get some talent pipeline management and development from us,” said Hampton Roads Workforce Council Senior Director Talent Development Whitney Lester.
Staffing shortages have put a strain on health workers for years.
“Healthcare touches everyone, everyone’s lives," said Congresswoman Jen Kiggans. "We don’t have enough people to give the quality care that I know we can give.”
Now, the Workforce Council is taking a deeper dive into the challenges seen at health facilities. On Monday morning, the organization kicked off a new program called the Hampton Roads Partnership for Health Sciences at Hub757 in Suffolk.
“Really what it’s intended to do is bring together all of the people that are in the ecosystem when it comes to developing our workforce in the healthcare system,” said Shawn Avery, the president and CEO of Hampton Roads Workforce Council.
Lester said the program looks to understand the issues within the industry and what positions are most needed.
“We can really go to work working with training providers, education at all levels to make sure that we are teaching what’s really needed,” he said.
Lester said they’re using a similar program created by Carilion Clinic in the Roanoke area as a blueprint for Hampton Roads. Cynthia Lawrence, the facility’s workforce development director, says the health system started the Blue Ridge Partnership to help connect students with employers to discuss careers and job barriers. She said that’s led to enrollment and graduation rate increases as well as companies coming to the table with more opportunities.
“One of the happy byproducts of all of this work…has been a building of trust and a breaking down of silos," she said. "That is what’s yielding the results.”
Lester said this initiative will support all health systems in Hampton Roads. He adds this is a program they plan to sustain for many years to come.
This partnership follows a string of grants aimed at bolstering the healthcare industry in Hampton Roads, $150,000 from Dominion Energy to increase the healthcare talent pipeline, specifically related to mental health professionals; $125,000 from Sentara Health to support talent development; $25,000 from Riverside Health System, $600,00 from Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, $110,000 from Bank of America, and $10,000 from Jobs for the Future.