Industry
Government, Healthcare, Workforce and Economic Development
Our Role
- Strategy Formulation
- Industry Cluster Formulation
- Project Coordination
- Strategic Planning
- Group Facilitation
- Initiative Branding
- Event Logistics Management
Situation
The Maryland Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (GWIB) wanted to address critical shortages in Maryland’s healthcare workforce and asked The Hill Group to manage and facilitate the Governor’s Healthcare Workforce Summit to engage stakeholders industry-wide in tackling this critical challenge.
Solution
The Governor’s Healthcare Workforce Summit convened several hundred stakeholders in the healthcare industry, including employers, educators, licensing and certification organizations, and government. The plenary sessions featured a candid panel discussion of Maryland’s healthcare CEOs and addresses by the Maryland Governor, a U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor, and the state Secretary for Licensing and Regulation.
In break-out strategy sessions, national and regional speakers presented promising practice models of job analysis as well as workplace and system redesign. Summit participants were charged with creating solutions to foster public-private partnerships in addressing the healthcare workforce shortage in Maryland.
From valuable information gathered at the Healthcare Workforce Summit, The Hill Group produced “Charting New Directions,” a process guide for industry leaders to use in understanding and implementing workforce development through a demand-driven, cluster-based approach. The plan outlined five key areas for action, including: Attraction and Recruitment, Retention, Professional Development, Systems Capacity & State Policy, and Military Transition.
Results
- Inclusive action plan to address five strategic areas
- Demand-driven committees to implement Summit strategies
- Dedicated GWIB Healthcare Workforce coordinator to assist implementation committees
- Program was awarded $1.5 million by the U.S. Department of Labor as part of the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative
Behind the Scenes
The Hill Group engaged a steering committee to assist in the Summit’s planning stages. This committee included representatives from healthcare employers, state licensing boards, educational institutions, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Defense, and allied state agencies. The Hill Group also documented the extent of the current healthcare worker shortage, forecasted the future situation, and researched different strategies and best practices of other states in addressing this issue.
The Summit provided a rich forum for the exchange of ideas and acted as a catalyst for creating priorities for Maryland that have been impacting the state’s healthcare workforce ever since. Maryland’s Healthcare Workforce Initiative was a direct result of the Summit.