It’s simple. Arizona needs more health care workers. The shortage of physicians and nurses per capita in our state has been well-documented for over a decade. The geographic challenges of providing care to all parts of Arizona only add to the task. At the same time, the last few years have seen a post-Great Recession focus among policymakers and business leaders to create a highly paid workforce in growing economic sectors, including health care.

Over the past year, SLHI continued to focus on addressing Arizona’s health workforce needs. We helped lead the Phoenix Healthcare Sector Partnership, whose 110+ business members are identifying strategies to address Arizona’s health workforce shortages. We also collaborated with the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce in commencing the Healthcare Leadership Council for Phoenix Forward, another business collaboration aimed at identifying new economic development strategies such as workforce development through a healthcare lens.

As part of these efforts, SLHI produced Health Workforce, Healthy Economy, which provides an overview of health workforce shortages in different professions and geographical areas. We encouraged passage of state legislation providing more health professionals with the ability to receive education loan repayment if they practice in a medically underserved region of the state. We also began to work with behavioral health providers and partners at the city and state level to identify opportunities to leverage federal dollars to address health workforce shortages.