Program on Health Workforce
Research and Policy
 
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
April 2015
In This Issue
News

We've redesigned our website - and there's more to come! 
Maybe you've noticed that we have three separate websites. Maybe you've noticed that it can be hard to find our data, information about our projects, and our products. Maybe you've noticed that our websites are just soooo 2005. For those of you who've noticed these things, we're pleased to unveil our new and improved website. Check us out at www.healthworkforce.unc.edu and be on the lookout for continued improvements and new features in the coming months.   

Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center  (HWTAC)   

The HWTAC hosts a series of webinars relating to health workforce data collection, analysis and research. The next webinar is on Wednesday, May 20th at 2:00 EDT. Joanne Spetz and Bianca Frogner will present their work on " Entry and Exit of Workers in Long-Term Care." For more information and to access the webinar on the day of the meeting, click here.

The HWTAC is a collaboration between the Center for Health Workforce Studies at SUNY-Albany and our Program on Health Workforce Res earch and Policy at the Sheps Center.
Health Workforce 
Seminar Series

Our Program has wrapped up our interdisciplinary seminar series for the semester, and we'll pick back up in the fall. Click here if you'd like to access information from previous seminars. 


Staff News 

Congratulations to Sarai Narvaez, an MSPH student in Health Policy and Management in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Blair Golden a fourth year medical student at the UNC School of Medicine, on their upcoming graduations. Both have been wonderful additions to our team, and we wish them all the best! 

  

Our team has grown

 

Back in November, Erica Richman, PhD, MSW, joined our team as our new research analyst. Erica's background in social work makes her a great addition to our team as we delve into roles and workforce configurations needed in value-based models of care. 

  

Sue Isley joined our team in February, and provides support as our business services coordinator. She retired in July 2014 after working 18 years with the North Carolina AHEC Program. Outside of work, Sue enjoys family, cooking, working in her flowers and volunteering with her church and community. 

  

Welcome, Erica and Sue!

 

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We are pleased to share our April newsletter with you. If you have any questions or comments about our Program or the content of this newsletter, please send us an email. We would also appreciate hearing about how you use our data and products in your work.
 
In 2014, the North Carolina General Assembly directed the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina system to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a school of optometry in the state. As part of their response, the UNC General Administration commissioned the Program on Health Workforce Research and Policy to produce a report describing the supply and distribution of optometrists in the state. Based on these data, the Board of Governors, in November 2014, recommended not developing a new school, a recommendation that, if adopted by the General Assembly, will save the state an estimated $12-$40 million in initial start-up costs and an estimated $8-19 million in annual operation costs.Click here to read the complete report.
2013 North Carolina Health Professions Data Book

The Program is happy to announce the publication of the 2013 North Carolina Health Professions Data Book. The Data Book, published annually since 1981, is the authoritative source of information for over 19 health professions in North Carolina. Information in the Data Book includes changes in the supply of health professionals and changes in practitioner to population ratios at the state, regional, and county level.

 
Click
here to read the complete report.
Carolina Health Workforce Research Center
Created in 2013, the CHWRC is one of five national Health Workforce Research Centers funded through cooperative agreements with the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis within the Bureau of Health Workforce in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The Center has wrapped up our first year's projects and we are well into our second year. In our first year, investigators undertook projects to: 1) identify the new roles and skill mix configurations emerging in redesigned care delivery systems; 2) study changes in nurse practitioner and physician assistant specialty distribution in North Carolina between 1997-2013; and, 3) quantify how the local availability of physicians of various sub-specialties affects the scope and mix of services provided by primary care providers in rural areas. Current work includes understanding PA and NP role transformations in patient-centered medical homes; describing how workforce projections might be better used to inform GME policy; identifying career pathways between LPNs and RNs; developing new methodologies that explain the factors driving physician career moves; and examining the use and effectiveness of physical and occupational therapists in outpatient and home health settings. The Center's external advisory board met in April 2015. We received some excellent input on pressing issues facing the health workforce and ideas for Year 3 projects. Please visit our website for more information.
Presentations
Program staff have been traveling around the country and the state giving presentations to a wide variety of health workforce stakeholders. Here is just a sampling of the presentations and audiences:

Erin Fraher. Physician Shortages: What If We Actually Used Data to Shape GME Policy?  Washington, DC, MedPAC staff seminar.

Barbara Brandt and Erin Fraher. How Many Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Professionals Do You Need? The Impact of New Delivery System Models on Your State's Workforce Needs. National Governors Association Meeting on Learning From Each Other: How States Are Transforming Their Health Systems.
Tom Ricketts.
So make me! Translating research into action. Chapel Hill, NC, The Cecil G. Sheps Center's annual DeFriese Lecture. 
Erin Fraher. The Nursing Workforce in North Carolina: Challenges and Opportunities. The NC Board of Nursing.
Julie Spero. Pharmacy Workforce Trends in North Carolina. National AHEC Organization Conference.
Katie Gaul. AHEC's Role in State Health Workforce Data Collection. National AHEC Organization Conference.

Erin Fraher. The Nursing Workforce: Navigating through Transformative Health System Change. 

Foundation for Nursing Excellence, RIBN conference. 
Tom Ricketts. Numbers and Polices: Bringing the Two Together. Chapel Hill, NC UNC Dental Research Day
Erin Fraher.
A Primer on the Health Workforce in the United States . The National Health Policy Forum.

 Charlotte AHEC Nursing Deans and Directors Meeting.

Erin Fraher. The Workforce Needed to Staff Value-Based Models of Care . The National Health Policy Forum. 
Tom Ricketts.
Parcours de Soin: Pathways of Care, Coordination of Care, Care Management, Team Care . Paris, France. The French National Cancer Institute & the Cancer Network of Ile de France.
Erin Fraher. How can we transform the workforce to meet the needs of a transformed health system? Vermont Health Care Workforce Symposium.
Katie Gaul. The World of Health Workforce Data, Analysis and Policy: National and State Perspectives. Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce.
Katie Gaul.
The Health System is Transforming: Now What? The Ohio MEDTAPP Summit: Transforming Healthcare Through State-University Partnerships.
Julie Spero.
Trends in the Supply and Distribution of the Health Workforce in Area L and Beyond .  Area L AHEC, Rocky Mount, NC.
Erin Fraher. Using Workforce Data to Shape GME Policy. WWAMI Graduate Education Summit.


To access the rest of our presentations, click  here .