Chair File: Strengthening and Supporting the Health Care Workforce

A strong and healthy workforce is the backbone of American health care.

We know that an aging workforce, combined with a surge in retirements and the stress associated with responding to the pandemic, have exacerbated health care workforce challenges. These and other factors have created a national emergency that needs our attention.

The AHA recently released the 2024 Health Care Workforce Scan, which identifies and shares strategies and resources that support hospital and health system teams.

The 2024 Scan focuses on three core challenges:

• Creatively reimagine workforce roles and responsibilities.
• Strategically redesign care delivery and practices.
• Successfully transform workforce culture and patient care.

Highlighted in the Scan are insights, solutions and practical recommendations from hospitals and health systems across the country, as well as data on the latest trends and shifts in the health care workforce.

The Scan also identifies key drivers transforming the workforce, including reexamining and modernizing current staffing models; acknowledging the growing role of technology, including virtual nursing and artificial intelligence; continuing to move care beyond hospital walls; and adopting hybrid workforce policies.

Visit AHA’s workforce hub to download the 2024 Health Care Workforce Scan and find other workforce-related resources.

The AHA will continue to work with the field in developing innovative strategies and resources that protect and enhance the well-being of current health care workers and future generations of caregivers.