The Virginia Health Care Workforce
Implementation Grant
Mission
The mission of the Authority is to facilitate
the development of a statewide health
professions pipeline that identifies, educates,
recruits, and retains a diverse, appropriately
geographically distributed and culturally
competent quality workforce.
Core Functions
The mission of the Authority is accomplished through:
(i) providing the statewide infrastructure required for health
workforce needs assessment and planning that maintains
engagement by health professions training programs in
decision making and program implementation;
(ii) serving as the advisory board and setting priorities for the
Virginia Area Health Education Centers Program;
(iii) coordinating with and serving as a resource to relevant
state, regional, and local entities including the Department of
Health Professions Workforce Data Center, the Joint
Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the Joint
Commission on Health Care, the Southwest Virginia Health
Authority, or any similar regional health authority that may
be developed;
Core Functions
(iv) informing state and local policy development as it pertains
to health care delivery, training, and education;
(v) identifying and promoting evidence-based strategies for
health workforce pipeline development and
interdisciplinary health care service models, particularly
those affecting rural and other underserved areas;
(vi) supporting communities in their health workforce
recruitment and retention efforts and developing
partnerships and promoting models of participatory
engagement with business and community-based and
social organizations to foster integration of health care
training and education;
Core Functions
(vi) advocating for programs that will result in reducing the
debt load of newly trained health professionals;
(vii)identifying high priority target areas within each region of
the Commonwealth and working toward health workforce
development initiatives that improve health measurably in
those areas; and
(viii)fostering or creating innovative health workforce
development models that provide both health and
economic benefits to the regions they serve.
We Won!
VIRGINIA AWARDED
A $1.93 MILLION
STATE HEALTH
WORKFORCE
IMPLEMENTATION
GRANT
Partners
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Virginia Department of Health Professions
Virginia Workforce Council (VWC)
Virginia Health Care Foundation
Virginia Area Health Education Centers
Virginia Community Health Care Association
Virginia Academy of Family Physicians
Organizational Chart
Goal 1
To set up the statewide infrastructure required for
health workforce needs assessment and planning that
maintains engagement by health professions training
programs in decision making and program
implementation.
• Objective 1: To establish the VHWDA as a sustainable public-private
partnership.
Challenge/Lesson Learned: The Infamous Chicken-Egg Problem
Goal 1
To set up the statewide infrastructure required for
health workforce needs assessment and planning that
maintains engagement by health professions training
programs in decision making and program
implementation.
• Objective 2: To establish the Virginia Health Careers Student Registry
into a comprehensive registry of all Virginia students with an interest in
health careers. Grow Your Own!
Goal 1
To set up the statewide infrastructure required for
health workforce needs assessment and planning that
maintains engagement by health professions training
programs in decision making and program
implementation.
• Objective 3: To expand the scope of the annual Choose Virginia
Conference to include all students and residents with an interest in
primary care, helping them to “Choose Virginia! A Healthy Place to live
and work!”
Goal 2
To encourage regional partnerships that address health
workforce pipeline development needs and promote
innovative health care workforce career pathway activities.
• Objective 1: To identify High Priority Target Areas (HPTAs) within each
region of the Commonwealth.
Goal 2
To encourage regional partnerships that address health
workforce pipeline development needs and promote
innovative health care workforce career pathway activities.
• Objective 2: To identify and convene regional leadership to discuss
opportunities to better leverage and align existing state, regional and
local programs and activities to support regional health workforce
pipeline development initiatives that are designed to have a measurable
impact on HPTAs.
Goal 2
To encourage regional partnerships that address health
workforce pipeline development needs and promote
innovative health care workforce career pathway activities.
• Objective 3: To make available funds for regional planning and
implementation grants to encourage leaders at the regional level to
develop partnerships to address the workforce issues in HPTAs and
that result in health workforce development initiatives that improve
health status and outcomes in those areas.
Goal 2
To encourage regional partnerships that address health
workforce pipeline development needs and promote
innovative health care workforce career pathway activities.
• Objective 4: To capture, package and disseminate best practices and
effective regional initiatives throughout Virginia and the nation.
PHOTOVOICE!
Anticipated Outcomes and
Impacts
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Increase the primary care health care workforce
FTEs by between ten to twenty-five percent over
ten years;
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Improve the geographical distribution and diversity
of a culturally and linguistically competent health
care workforce to areas within the Commonwealth
where they are most needed; and
Anticipated Outcomes and
Impacts
•
Reduce hospital admissions for ambulatory care
sensitive conditions as measured by Prevention
Quality Indicators (PQIs) and health care
expenditures within regional HPTAs, ultimately
improving the disability adjusted life years (a
measure of disease burden), for Virginians residing
in regional HPTAs.
For More Information
Kathy Hsu Wibberly, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Primary Care and Rural Health
Virginia Department of Health
Office of Minority Health and Health Equity
804.864.7426
Kathy.Wibberly@vdh.virginia.gov
Keisha L. Smith, MPA
Health Workforce Program Manager
Virginia Department of Health
Office of Minority Health and Health Equity
804.864.7431
Keisha.Smith@vdh.virginia.gov