At its core, health care is about people.
Those who work in hospitals care for our neighbors, our friends, and our family members in their hours of need. These nurses, doctors, clinical staff, and others have dedicated their lives to helping others — and without them, hospitals would simply be empty buildings.
The job our health care workers do is not easy. It demands sacrifices, long hours, and endless patience, not to mention years of education and training before they are even employed at a hospital. California is projected to face a shortage of more than 61,000 nurses and 180,000 behavioral health professionals by 2033, according to the Department of Health Care Access and Information.
But workforce shortages are not just a future problem — they are impacting hospital operations right now. Difficulties finding staff impact patients’ ability to access care, force them to wait longer when fewer clinicians are available to meet growing patient needs, and contribute to increased burnout among the staff who are available. When positions go unfilled, emergency departments back up, surgeries are delayed, and patients wait longer while their conditions worsen.
That’s why programs that build the next generation of health care workers are so important. Take, for instance, an innovative program in Fresno that has created new opportunities for youth who may not otherwise have considered health care careers, particularly those leaving the juvenile justice system, foster youth, and kids from underserved communities. This effort, conducted in partnership with the Public Works Alliance, has just graduated its first class of students — more than a dozen well-trained young professionals eager to begin serving their communities. This is not just a local success story; it is a blueprint for how California can grow its workforce from within its own communities.
Programs like this will be the only way to prevent today’s shortages from worsening, and yet even as hospitals work to expand the pipeline, some of these programs are at risk. Napa Valley College is considering closing its psychiatric technician program at the exact moment demand is rising. Protecting this program, and others like it, is critical. For Napa Valley, it’s not too late. The college is gauging enrollment interest before making a final decision. If you or your leadership teams have been on the fence about enrolling in this program, now is the time.
Sustaining the health care workforce is not just one of many challenges for hospitals — it is the foundation for everything else. If we do not invest in the people who deliver care, nothing else we do will matter.