MADISON, Wis. – UW Health announced the creation of WorkForward, a new non-profit organization that is designed to bolster the national health care workforce.
Building on the health system’s nationally recognized leadership in developing innovative career pathways in health care, WorkForward is the first employer-based intermediary in health care, aligning employers, educators, governing bodies and other organizations around shared workforce development goals and outcomes.
Workforce shortages and high turnover have been persistent challenges for health care systems as they attempt to meet the growing national demand for care. WorkForward will guide and support efforts to build and scale innovative approaches to health care workforce development, drawing upon the sustained success achieved in the Madison area.
This project brings an important new voice to a health care industry facing significant workforce shortages. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis predicts shortages across the health care workforce by the year 2038, including 141,160 physicians, 108,960 registered nurses, 60,610 physical therapists, 30,400 pharmacists and 12,770 respiratory therapists
This isn’t about a shortage of talent in the United States but addressing bottlenecks in accessing and scaling health care education and training programs, according to Bridgett Willey, executive director and chief operating officer, WorkForward.
“People want to work in health care, or grow in their health care careers, and health systems want to hire and support talented people; they just need the right coordination and infrastructure,” she said. “That’s what WorkForward is designed to provide.”
WorkForward will consult and partner with a variety of organizations, including health care employers, K-12 and post-secondary educators, federal and state apprenticeship agencies and other intermediaries to provide tailored strategies and support for health care workforce development, to launch or expand apprenticeships, establish youth career pathways and experiential learning, all customized to federal, state and local regulations, partners and priorities.
The effort will also build a network of engaged organizations and individuals, creating opportunities for industry collaboration and shared learning. This work will help the industry build upon proven approaches and better understand the conditions that drive program success.
WorkForward will also bring day‑to‑day operational insights from health systems into state and federal policy conversations to help align funding and regulations with real needs.
WorkForward is built on a decade of leadership and success of innovative health care workforce development at UW Health, according to Willey.
UW Health launched its Allied Health Education and Career Pathways department in 2015 with 15 staff and no apprentices. Ten years later, UW Health has trained more than 1,000 apprentices in 17 programs, including 12 registered apprenticeship programs — several of which are first‑of‑their‑kind — and more than 250 youth apprentices. The percentage of these apprentices who complete their program, pass their credentialing exams on the first try, and take a position at UW Health upon completion is almost 100%, according to Willey.
“These amazing results inspired other health systems, as well as universities and other institutions to ask us how they can establish similar programs,” she said. “WorkForward is our way to help organizations across the country replicate our success and support the future of the health care workforce.”
Ultimately, growing and sustaining the health care workforce means patients have access to the care they need, when and where they need it, Willey said.
“When you solve workforce challenges, you expand access to care, and that’s one of the main goals of WorkForward,” she said. “We’re building quickly because the need is real. The faster we help organizations grow their talent pipelines, the faster patients see the benefit.”
Go to https://www.uwhealth.org/workforward for more information.
