THE NEED
California is facing a health workforce crisis.
There are not enough health workers to meet the needs of this state’s increasingly diverse, growing, and aging population.
California is ranked #1 in the US for projected registered nurse shortages. The state is projected to be short 44,500 registered nurses by 2030.
Bureau of Health Workforce
We not only need to increase the overall number of physicians and healthcare professionals in the Central Valley, we also need to ensure that our primary care workforce is robust and trained to serve the diverse and growing needs of our population.
Diversity in our healthcare workforce is in everyone’s best interest, not just people of color. Studies have consistently shown that communities of color in California’s Central Valley face significant healthcare disparities, including higher rates of chronic diseases, lower life expectancies, and reduced access to quality healthcare. A diverse healthcare workforce can better understand and address the unique cultural, linguistic, and social determinants of health that contribute to these disparities.
Despite the growing diversity of the Valley’s population, people of color continue to be underrepresented in the healthcare workforce, particularly in leadership roles. Training a diverse healthcare workforce pipeline not only addresses this underrepresentation but also promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion within the healthcare sector, fostering a more representative and responsive healthcare system.
A diverse healthcare workforce can bridge the trust gap, leading to improved patient-provider relationships and ultimately better health outcomes for both communities of color and the broader public.
DATA & STATISTICS
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According to the California Health Care Foundation, our state is facing a health workforce crisis. There are not enough health workers to meet the needs of this state’s increasingly diverse, growing, and aging population.
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California is ranked #1 in the US for projected registered nurse shortages. The state is projected to be short 44,500 registered nurses by 2030. Source: Bureau of Health Workforce
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The average age for a Registered nurse is 52 years old. Nurses will soon be retiring in masse, and there won’t be enough new nurses to replace them. Source: 2020 National Nursing Workforce Study
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According to HCAI, in Fresno County, we have a low physician supply, and a high rate of preventable hospitalizations
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Additionally, although the state population is becoming increasingly diverse, the current health workforce doesn’t reflect these demographic shifts.
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Although California is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states in the United States, Latinos, African-Americans, and American Indians are underrepresented in most health professions that require an undergraduate or graduate degree. Source: Healthforce Center at UCSF
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According to HCAI, in California, the percentage of licensed healthcare workers who are either hispanic or black are disproportionately low when compared to the population.
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In California, only 10% of licensed physicians are hispanic, even though this ethnicity accounts for the largest percentage of our state’s population, at nearly 40%. HCAI data
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Black people make up 13% of the U.S. population, but Black doctors are not equally represented. For example, only 7% of primary care physicians are Black, according to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Although California is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states in the United States, Latinos, African-Americans, and American Indians are underrepresented in most health professions that require an undergraduate or graduate degree.
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When doctors have similar cultures and lived experiences to the patients, they are more likely to take patient concerns seriously, which results in better life expectancy.
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A higher representation of black physicians in the workforce is associated with less death for both black and white patients. Even people not actively being treated by Black physicians benefit from their presence in the community. Source: Journal of the American Medical Association in April of 2023.
