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Supervisor Arroyo presents countywide review of medical provider recruitment and retention; board receives report
Summary
Supervisor Arroyo presented findings from interviews with local providers and health systems on workforce shortages, housing, and retention strategies; the board voted 5-0 to receive and file the report and to promote a Jan. 27 public forum.
Supervisor Natalie Arroyo presented a review of recruitment and retention challenges affecting physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in Humboldt County on Jan. 14; the Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to receive and file the report.
Arroyo said she pursued the review because it is “a top constituent concern” and that interviews with clinicians, CEOs and workforce partners showed a mix of statewide trends and local constraints. The presentation emphasized a national physician shortfall, retirements accelerated by technology and pandemic pressures, and local obstacles such as housing, childcare and behavioral health capacity.
Arroyo outlined measures currently used by local systems to recruit and retain providers: residency programs, flexible scheduling (including compressed four-day weeks), retention bonuses for long-serving clinicians, locum-to-perm pathways, housing assistance by some employers, and concierge services to help new hires integrate. She told the board that residency programs have shown measurable success: "out of 7 or 8 residents last year, more than half stayed," she said during discussion of program outcomes.
Panelists scheduled for a follow-up public forum on Jan. 27 include Jennifer Heidman (medical director, PACE program), Michael Culliman (CEO, Providence and Redwood Memorial), Chris Myers (United Indian Health Services), Matt Rees (Southern Humboldt Community Health Care), Doug Shaw (Mad River), Tori Starr (Open Door), Candy Stockton (Humboldt County Public Health Officer) and Seth Whitmer (Redwoods Rural). The event will include live-streaming via Access Humboldt.
Several board members asked staff to pursue specific next steps: zoning and land-use measures that permit medical clinic space by right; workforce housing streamlining targeted at moderate-income providers; and partnership among major local employers to share job-posting information for partners and spouses. Supervisor Arroyo said she would incorporate feedback in her presentation at a community event later in January.
The motion to receive and file the report was made by Supervisor Arroyo, seconded by Supervisor Madrone. The board recorded the vote as: Supervisor Bone: yes; Supervisor Arroyo: yes; Supervisor Wilson: yes; Chair Bushnell: yes; Supervisor Madrone: yes. Motion carried 5-0.
