The RUPRI Health Panel has released a new paper on rural health workforce. Meeting Challenges of Staffing Rural Health Systems: Strategies and Actions in Eight Organizations synthesizes insights from conversations with health system leaders engaged in workforce strategy and operations to better understand how these challenges are being managed. It aims to capture the breadth of initiatives used in rural healthcare settings to offset staffing constraints, accommodate evolving care needs, and address limitations unique to rural settings.
KEY FINDINGS
- Recruiting new personnel strategies continue to focus primarily on financial
incentives, including sign-on bonuses, tuition reimbursement, and loan repayment
programs, alongside non-financial strategies targeting lifestyle considerations,
professional development opportunities, and community fit. - Expanding the local pool of people interested in health careers and potentially
attracted to positions the systems are filling includes strategies and investments to
generate workforce from local populations, including creating (with funding)
education and training opportunities for local residents, both pre-professionals and
professionals seeking advancement. - Retaining people in the workforce is achieved primarily through a strong, supportive
organizational culture and specific policies that target worker satisfaction,
including the use of decision support tools, creating career advancement ladders,
and implementing pay incentives. - Extending the workforce is accomplished by optimizing the time of existing
professionals through improvements in care design, such as integrating behavioral
health providers in primary care clinics, effective use of advanced practice
professionals, and technology to meet some clinical needs through telehealth and
reduce administrative burden.
