July 7, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched the HHS Health Workforce Initiative during an event at Lincoln-West School of Science and Health, a public high school in Cleveland, Ohio, which prepares students for college and careers in health care.
The goal of the HHS Health Workforce Initiative is to support, strengthen, and grow the health workforce by leveraging programs across the Department, including through the $2.7 billion workforce investment proposed in the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) workforce training, scholarship, loan repayment and well-being programs. The Department’s Initiative is focused on federal investments to support individuals across health workforce disciplines – including physicians, nurses, dentists, behavioral health care providers, community health workers, peer support specialists and many others who dedicate their careers to improving the nation’s health and wellbeing.
HRSA is the agency within HHS that administers numerous programs focused on growing, diversifying and supporting the health workforce, with a particular focus on meeting the health care needs of underserved and rural communities. The President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget prioritizes funding for the vital mandatory health care workforce programs – the National Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program – that support the recruitment and development of clinicians to deliver community-based care through loan repayment, scholarships, and residency training. HRSA’s budget also prioritizes investments in growing the nursing and behavioral health workforce, as well as supporting innovative workforce programs that would foster new approaches in workforce development and training.
HHS’ Initiative includes a coordinated Department-wide effort to identify opportunities to improve health workforce recruitment and retention, and career advancement, with equity at the center of this work. It will help to elevate workforce programs and activities across the Department, engage with stakeholders, and identify opportunities to further advance federal efforts to support the workforce.
Throughout the summer, the Initiative will continue to highlight programs aimed at strengthening the health workforce recruitment and prioritize the need to renew and extend the National Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program.