Healtlh Care Workforce Workgroup Comment Ltrx

September 29, 2010 The Honorable Thomas McLain Middleton, Co-Chair Chairman, Senate Finance Committee Wendy Kronmiller, Co-Chair Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary, DHMH Health Care Workforce Workgroup Health Care Reform Coordinating Council Dear Co-Chairs Middleton and Kronmiller: On behalf of the 67 members of the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), I am writing to share our comments on the key issues being considered by the Health Care Workforce Workgroup of the Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council (HCRCC). Reform holds the promise of increased access and improved care quality for all Marylanders, but that promise can only be met if there are enough qualified people to deliver on it. Nursing and Allied Health MHA has been very active in addressing the many workforce issues that challenge Maryland’s health care delivery system. We have worked diligently on nursing education and faculty programs--both through the Nurse Support I and II programs, funded through hospital rates--and the Who Will Care? campaign, which has so far raised more than $17 million in private donations to help double the number of nursing graduates by 2016. MHA also has worked with the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (GWIB) to examine Maryland’s shortage of allied health professionals. Shortages in these areas may be even more acute than those in nursing, because allied education programs are smaller, with limited faculty and student ...