By Janet Pearson, Editorial Writer,Tulsa World
May 22, 2006
Reprinted with permission

As if the news regarding Oklahoma’s health-care infrastructure weren’t disturbing enough, along comes a report showing that in six years, medical facilities will be short 4,500 needed personnel.

What’s more, there aren’t enough trainees in the educational pipeline —for that matter, there aren’t enough available slots in the schools — to fill those vacancies.

The shortage of nurses, lab technicians, physical therapists, surgical technologists, occupational therapists — not to mention an expected shortage of doctors in certain specialties — will mean longer waits, delays in obtaining needed services and perhaps even more serious outcomes, observers say. The estimated staff shortages, detailed in a health-care industry study recently completed by the Governor’s Council for Workforce and Economic Development, probably are too low, researchers concluded, because they do not address: the higher demand for services  that will result as baby boomers age; the anticipated decline in the work force that will result from retirements, and the need to address the overall poor health status of Oklahomans. The study is the first in a series that will focus on the work-force needs in various selected industries, according to the Department of Commerce, which provided staff support for the study.

Central Tech health care student Jennifer Rye visits with a patient.

Researchers determined that if current trends continue, the state will by 2012 have a shortage of more than 3,000 nurses, 600 lab technicians, 400 physical therapists, 300 surgical technologists and nearly 200 occupational therapists.

The estimates are based on findings culled from surveys of Oklahoma hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, nursing homes, home-health care agencies and the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Researchers also surveyed health-care educators to determine how many new workers will graduate each year in the near future, and to identify barriers to getting more workers on the job.

Mike Packnett, vice chairman of the council and president/CEO of Mercy Health System Oklahoma, said state leaders “now know what our target is for expanding the educational pipeline” to produce the needed workers. “It is critical that Oklahoma makes this issue a key priority and monitors its progress, and the need for healthcare workers, on an ongoing basis,” he added. This latest report is not the first to predict health-care worker shortages. Reports dating back at least to 2002 came up with similar findings. A May 2002 health policy report prepared by the Center for Health Policy Research, then at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences, found that Oklahoma’s nursing work force had aged dramatically in a 20-year span — which of course stands to reason, but also has policy implications.

The aging of the nursing work force is in effect a double-whammy, because it also means there will be fewer and fewer faculty to train new nurses in coming years. The workforce report found that in 2005, nursing and allied health programs in the state reported that 11 percent of their faculty positions were vacant.

In addition to the fact a large segment of the nursing work force simply is reaching retirement age, other factors have contributed to the shortage problem: changes in hospital utilization patterns and in the provision of clinical care, and various professional, labor and management issues. Even though staff shortages have been predicted for years, to date, the commitment to provide training resources has not materialized.

The governor’s council report cited Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education data showing that in 2004, the state’s 113 post-secondary education programs in nursing and other health disciplines received more than 11,600 applications for admission. About 79 percent of those — nearly 9,200 applicants — were found to be qualified, but only 57 percent were admittedbecause of enrollment limits.

Chancellor Paul Risser, noting all state educational institutions are at their capacity limits for training health-care professionals, said in order to train more, “we must find a way to bring more resources to the table.”

The shortage not only will affect the delivery of health-care services in a variety of ways, it also has economic development implications. The study noted that prospective employers as well as possible newcomers look at such factors as health care before relocating. Also, the health-care industry is among the state’s largest employers; in 2004, health care was the state’s second largest employing industry, accounting for 14 percent of the state’s total employment. A physician shortage also is looming. One recent report showed that within the next decade, the country will experience a 20 perent shortfall of physicians — about 200,000 fewer than needed. Primary-care specialities, such as pediatrics, internal medicine, geriatrics and family medicine, are the most severely affected disciplines. Unfortunately, those are among the most-needed specialties.

The report should serve as a wakeup call — or rather another wake-up call — to state leaders regarding the importance of expanding health-care training. Considering the fact that the ranks of Oklahomans over the age of 65 will increase 63 percent by the year 2030, and the fact that demand already is greater than the size of the existing health-care work force, we have no time to lose.

Copyright 2006 World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.