Southwest Virginia partnership launches health workforce planning; VCU expands nurse-anesthesia cohorts

Board members heard programmatic briefings on June 12 about regional health workforce shortages and the center’s role as a backbone convener for a new Southwest Virginia Health Careers and Workforce Partnership.

Karen Brown, director of health-care education initiatives, described the partnership as a planning-stage, stakeholder-driven effort funded initially by a Ball Springs Foundation planning grant. Brown said the partnership will convene education providers, employers and economic-development partners to “ground truth” workforce data and align program capacity with employer needs. She cited data (from a George Mason Center health-workforce dataset presented to the board) projecting regional shortages — the slides reported about 864 registered nurses and about 227 physical therapists short across the broader service area — and said many counties in the region carry federal Health Professional Shortage Area designations for primary care, dental and behavioral health.

Brown summarized active grant activity supporting training infrastructure: fundraising and grant receipts totaling about $1.8 million for a regional simulation lab (parts complete, parts under construction), a $78,000 planning grant for a Middle School Energy Education Academy, and a $25,000 planning grant for the Southwest Virginia Regional Healthcare Careers Workforce Partnership. She also briefed trustees on a registered-apprenticeship intermediary proposal funded in part by philanthropic and commission support (amounts reported in the meeting as Wellspring and the Virginia Tobacco Commission contributions). Brown said the partnership’s first year will emphasize listening sessions by sector (education, employers, community partners), developing committee work plans and reporting outcomes at year-end.

Dr. Crystal Honeycutt, representing Virginia Commonwealth University’s nurse-anesthesia program, reported program capacity and placement outcomes for cohorts training in the region. VCU’s program is a 36-month doctoral-level program for nurses with prior ICU experience; the VCU cohorts serving Southwest Virginia moved to increase intake in coming cycles. Dr. Honeycutt said the program’s recent graduating cohort had a 90% first-time certification pass rate and that employment within six months was 100 percent, with seven of the graduates staying in the region. VCU reported increased applicant interest from the Abingdon area and plans to continue local cohort operations to support regional clinical staffing needs.

Speakers and trustees discussed challenges that drive workforce shortages: limited clinical training slots, regulatory and reimbursement issues (including the effect of Medicaid reimbursement on provider location decisions), transportation barriers for patients and trainees, and retention dynamics for clinicians and their families in rural communities. Board members expressed interest in “grow your own” strategies — increasing local training and early engagement with students — and in identifying state-level regulatory barriers the statewide network could address.

Brown said the partnership has held two large kickoff meetings (one in March and a second meeting just before this board meeting) with more than 60 stakeholders attending the initial kickoff; the plan is to hold sector-focused meetings over the coming year and then establish committees to pursue prioritized work items. The center’s simulation lab, apprenticeship activity and VCU’s local training cohorts were presented as immediate building blocks for a regional workforce pipeline.

The board did not take a vote on the partnership’s planning activities at the meeting; trustees asked staff to continue stakeholder convening and to report progress back to the board.