Worforce Recruitment & Retention Print

Workforce Grant Program

The Rural Comprehensive Care Network of Nebraska has received a three year Outreach Grant from the Office of Rural Health Policy, HRSA. The grant began May 1, 2009 and will be funded until April 30, 2012.
There are three consortium partners the South East Rural Physician Alliance, Blue River Valley Healthcare Network, and Southeast Nebraska Area Health Education Center.

The target population of this grant will be residents of the rural communities that are served by the rural physician clinics and hospitals in the Rural Comprehensive Care Network service area. The Rural Comprehensive Care Network Consortium’s over arching goal is to assure access to comprehensive, high quality health care in our rural area.

Purpose

The purpose of the grant will be to implement a program to assist in recruiting and retaining the patient care professionals. The consortium defines the patient care professionals as physicians, mid-level practitioners, nurses, lab technicians, x-ray technicians, information technology staff, dieticians, OT and PT therapist and other ancillary providers as needed by hospitals and clinics.

The goals of the workforce program

  1. Ensure an adequate supply of patient care professionals working in the targeted counties;
  2. Increase the number of young people that choose health care as their career;
  3. Decrease the turnover rate at Rural Comprehensive Care Network facilities;
  4. Establish a sustainability plan to ensure that the workforce programs will continue after the grant funding ends.
The consortium will develop programs to recruit the patient care professionals with ties to Nebraska to come back home, design a mentoring program to increase the retention of the patient care professionals, conduct courses to increase the employees’ knowledge about management, communication and improve their technical skills. The consortium will also actively recruit junior high and high school students to select health care as their career.

As the current health care workforce get older and “baby boomers” start aging the increased need for patient care professionals will continue to grow within the next five to fifteen years. Everyone needs to have access to high quality health care services in order to eliminate health disparities and increase the quality and years of healthy life. Patient care professional shortages in rural counties create barriers to health care for rural residents. This program will address those workforce issues.

Next >