Louisville Representative Ken Fleming calls it “an unprecedented approach.” He’s talking about legislation filed to address the ongoing healthcare worker shortage across the Commonwealth. It establishes the Healthcare Workplace Investment Fund that would be a public-private partnership. 65% of the money would go primarily for scholarships to see more people in the healthcare pipeline. The other 35% would help to boost faculty and pay for needed educational equipment. Fleming said it would go beyond raising nursing numbers.
“We are broadening the base. We’re going to include mental health professionals, paramedics, EMT’s, nursing aides, physical therapists, dental hygienists, and many many others. This bill also addresses the underserved geographical regions and underserved professional disciplines,” said Fleming.
The Kentucky Hospital Association puts the nursing vacancies at more than 13,000 at the end of 2021. A new survey is not expected to show much difference in the numbers. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education would administer the program. CPE President Aaron Thompson said a viable economy needs a healthy population and that means more healthcare workers.
“It’s not just about quantity, it’s making sure… you want someone in a healthcare profession to provide you with what they need. You want to make sure they know how to do it. So, we won’t do this purely on a quantitative way. It will focus heavily on the qualitative outputs that we need,” said Thompson.
Thompson noted the private and public funds would help staff healthcare centers across the state. Jennifer Wiseman with the Kentucky Nurses Association said the legislation has nothing to do with pay for nurses. She added it’s aimed at increasing entry to the workforce numbers. Betsy Johnson with the Kentucky Association of Healthcare Facilities said long-term care centers are in great need of nurse aids.
A state appropriation into the fund would not occur until next year, but private fundraising could begin much earlier.
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