The Greater Phoenix region hosts a number of world-class hospital systems and continues to grow rapidly as a top health care hub. With sustained growth, Arizona is projected to have a nursing shortage of 28,000 by 2025, according to a study by Becker’s Hospital Review. Through the Foundation’s Hospital Workforce Collaborative, the region’s hospitals identified notable challenges filling specialty nursing positions, which ultimately impacts their ability to hire new nursing graduates, further compounding the nursing shortage.
Specialty Nurse Talent Gaps
After identifying a lack of training programs and available simulation labs to upskill nurses into specialty roles, the Chamber supported Maricopa County Community College District’s efforts to secure $5.8 million in appropriations from the legislature to fund needed infrastructure at Maricopa County Community College District to create and scale specialty nursing training programs.
Hospital Collaborative Current Priorities
- Conduct curriculum reviews for the remaining specialty nurse programs
- Design a specialty nurse training program model that can transcend throughout all specialty areas
- Identify in-demand specialty tech roles within nursing
While the collaborative is currently addressing the growing shortage of specialty nurses, the Foundation hopes to expand its efforts to help with a variety of other aspects of the health care industry in the future. Learn more about Arizona’s Health Care industry in the Chamber’s 2019 Health Care Report.
Hospital Collaborative In the News
- Building bridges to develop workable solutions
- Joint Press Release with MCCCD
- Foundation partnered with Amazon to showcase Career Choice program
- Amazon’s $700M plan to retrain employees could benefit Arizona workers
Contact our Workforce team with questions or to get involved in the Health Care Workforce Collaborative!
Workforce Development Manager | workforce@phoenixchamber.com