AHA past chair urges action to address health care workforce emergency

In an op-ed published at MedPage Today, 2021 AHA Board Chair Rod Hochman, M.D., urges action to address the nation’s growing shortage of health care workers, from enacting the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act to lifting the cap on Medicare-funded physician residencies.

“Our workforce is our most precious resource,” he notes. “Caregivers have proven to be the real healthcare heroes. But without a resilient and adequately-sized healthcare workforce, we cannot serve our communities. Our entire healthcare system breaks down.”