Indiana’s health care worker population is shrinking.
As health care professionals face increasing demands for mental health management, chronic disease management, and an aging population, Indiana is increasing opportunities for high school students to pursue careers in health care. Competition among healthcare organizations in need of certified and skilled personnel is fierce.
Jennifer Kolb, vice president of workforce development at online education provider MedCerts, asked how providers can engage and engage students.
“How do we build a pipeline of qualified talent? Will a new generation of people interested in health care be able to fill these roles?” Kolb explained. “So where does that talent come from?”
Greater Lafayette Career Academy, through a partnership with Indiana University Health, offers Tippecanoe County high school students a program that includes mentoring as a springboard to future health care careers. Upon completion, students will become certified as medical assistants, nursing assistants, or paramedics.
Since 2019, the hospital industry has spent or lost about $24 billion, or about $7,000 to $9,000 per day for the average facility, due to employee turnover reaching 106%, Kolb said. He pointed out that He added that human resources and talent acquisition departments recognize the urgency of filling medical positions and can predict what roles will become available in the future.
“They know not only that they have a problem now, but that they will have a problem two, three, four, five years from now,” Kolb emphasized. “And if we want to solve long-term problems, we need to think about what plans are in place now to prevent future gaps.”
The Indiana State Department of Treasury offers a Career Scholarship Account program. The $5,000 scholarship helps remove barriers to participation in career preparation programs, including health care. MedCerts also secured 20 state-funded scholarships for Indiana high school seniors in medical assisting, phlebotomy, medical coding, and surgical technologist apprenticeships.
