Who
Bay Area Good Jobs Partnership for Equity (BAGJPE), a nine-county coalition of Bay Area workforce investment boards
What
The state intends to invest up to $10 million to support two-year, regional economic development projects aligned with workforce development strategies. This would be done in connection with the Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) planning grant. BAGJPE expects to be highly competitive as the project will leverage an existing $5 million CERF planning grant managed by the San Francisco board.
BAGJPE asked Hospital Council and its members to support the grant application and partner with the collaborative to work toward transforming the regional health care workforce system and alleviate labor shortages in the industry while advancing employment equity. The proposal seeks resources to facilitate greater coordination among employer, labor, educational, and community stakeholders across the Bay Area.
Specifically, the grant proposes funding for the following:
- Convening health care stakeholders at the regional, sub-regional, and/or county level. They include employers such as hospitals and medical centers, industry associations such as Hospital Council and Bay Area Council, workforce boards, economic development agencies, labor, and community members.
- An economic and workforce development report and strategy that outlines the need for an estimated 60,000 health care professionals in the Bay Area over the next five years.
- Hiring regional health equity navigators to be involved in the conversation, and coordinate employer interests.
- Mapping the landscape of health care programs across the region, identifying gaps based on employer need.
- Establishing a supportive services fund for potential workers and incumbent workers to access training, employment, retention, professional development, and continuing education supports.
Hospital Council RVPs will work closely with BAGJPE and represent members during the initial phase of the work, should the grant be successful. Human resources teams from member hospitals are likely to be engaged as the work evolves.
Contacts for more information about this work include Hospital Council RVPs Michon Coleman, Jo Coffaro, Rebecca Rozen, or Meghan Hardin.