Press Release  HPC PRESENTS NEW HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DATA, CONVENES LEADERS TO DISCUSS POLICY SOLUTIONS

BOSTON — This week, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) held a special event focused on the Massachusetts health care workforce, Building a Robust Health Care Workforce in Massachusetts: Findings, Challenges, and Opportunities. A recording, event materials, the HPC’s newly released chartpack of findings and policy recommendations, Health Care Workforce Trends and Challenges in the Era of COVID-19: Current Outlook and Policy Considerations for Massachusetts – Special Focus on Direct Care Workers, Behavioral Health Providers, and Registered Nurses, an executive summary of the report, and a new episode of HPC Shorts focused on the topic are available on the HPC’s website.

“Massachusetts continues to face unprecedented workforce shortages and high turnover, which have contributed to both delays and disruptions in patient care throughout the health care system,” said David Seltz, HPC Executive Director. “Recognizing and addressing the challenges facing the Commonwealth’s workforce is a high priority for the HPC, and the research shared today is only the first step, as the HPC will examine other sectors and professions as part of its ongoing research agenda.”

Like the rest of the U.S., the Massachusetts health care system is experiencing significant workforce shortages and is under tremendous strain. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing pressures, leading to system-wide staffing challenges that have impeded the transition of patients among care settings and interrupted care continuity. This leads to patients lacking access to timely and appropriate care, boarding in emergency departments, or remaining in hospital beds awaiting discharge.

“At this week’s event, health care workforce experts shrewdly identified potential solutions that they and the Commonwealth can work collaboratively to implement across the care continuum,” said Deborah Devaux, HPC Board Chair. “We look forward to working with all stakeholders to address these challenges.”

RECAP: HPC SPECIAL EVENT

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the HPC hosted a special event, Building a Robust Health Care Workforce In Massachusetts: Findings, Challenges, and Opportunities, focused on the critical challenges facing the health care workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying priorities for future policy action.

Karen Tseng, Acting Undersecretary for Health in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), provided the keynote remarks on behalf of the Healey-Driscoll Administration and EOHHS Secretary Kate Walsh. Undersecretary Tseng highlighted the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s priorities in this area, including proposed legislation to extend key pandemic flexibilities such as lower minimum staffing requirements, investments in recruitment, retention, and training for home and community-based health care workers, and increasing investment in advanced technology.

The HPC’s Associate Director for Research and Cost Trends, Dr. Sasha Albert, presented findings from the HPC’s new chartpack on the health care workforce, highlighting trends for three key role types – registered nurses, direct care workers, and behavioral health providers – which together comprise approximately 65% of the health care workforce in Massachusetts.

• Current workforce challenges across the health care system are due in part to tighter labor markets. The ratio of all workers to the total population in Massachusetts is 5% below the pre-pandemic level.
• Health care providers have experienced high rates of vacancies and turnover, including registered nursing vacancies doubling from 6.4% in 2019 to 13.6% in 2022. In long-term care, the share of hours worked by contracted registered nurses has quintupled, from 4% in 2019 to 19% in 2022.
• Shortages of workers have important impacts on patient care, such as patients remaining in hospital beds awaiting discharge, boarding in emergency departments (EDs), and lacking access to timely and appropriate care.
• There is an imperative to further diversify the health care workforce to better reflect the patient populations being served.

The full chartpack, including the full slate of findings and policy recommendations, can be found on the HPC’s website.

The two panel discussions featured prominent speakers from the across the health care industry continuum, who provided insights on the state of the health care workforce, shared their experiences, and discussed potential policy solutions in an evolving post-COVID-19 environment.

The first panel, moderated by HPC Commissioner and Worcester City Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Matilde Castiel, focused on unique challenges and solutions across the health care workforce sectors. Key themes from the panel included efforts to adequately prepare and train the health care workforce for the future, building and supporting a diverse workforce, and the impact of an increasing reliance on temporary contract labor. The panel also discussed potential solutions, including boosting investment in workforce development and wages, developing enhanced mentoring and onboarding support, promoting innovations in scheduling and work environments, and establishing clear and accessible career ladders.

The second panel, moderated by HPC Commissioner and Executive Vice President for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Timothy Foley, focused on the future of the health care workforce and recommendations to encourage resiliency and innovation. Key themes from the panel include urgency in addressing workforce issues across the care-continuum and workforce lifecycle, potential innovative policy changes to expand and support workforce diversity, and opportunities for health care delivery organizations to work collaboratively to adapt to the continued workforce shortages and challenges.

More information on the event, including a recording of the event and all materials, are available on the HPC’s website. The findings and full slate of policy recommendations can be found on the HPC’s website: Health Care Workforce Trends and Challenges in the Era of COVID-19: Current Outlook and Policy Considerations for Massachusetts – Special Focus on Direct Care Workers, Behavioral Health Providers, and Registered Nurses.

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