AHA Op-ed: Health care workers are part of American infrastructure

Any threat to the stability of the health care workforce is a threat to the nation’s infrastructure, writes Robyn Begley, AHA chief nursing officer and CEO of its American Organization for Nursing Leadership, in an op-ed published today by Healthcare Dive.

“Hospitals are one of the truly essential facilities needed for the operation of a society, and is a core component in our nation’s infrastructure — something that has been proven time and again throughout this pandemic,” Begley writes. “To that end, a qualified, engaged and diverse workforce is at the heart of that healthcare system. This means that any threat to the stability of our health care workforce is a threat to our infrastructure — and should be central to any major infrastructure legislation.”