Report: California To Face Major Shortage of Allied Health Workers
California will need to train nearly one million more allied health professionals by 2030 in order to meet projected demand, according to a report released Tuesday, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Beacon Economics conducted the study with funding from the California Wellness Foundation (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 9/22).
Allied health workers include up to 50 job classifications and make up about 60% of the health care work force. Some occupations include:
- Laboratory technicians;
- Medical secretaries;
- Nursing aides;
- Respiratory therapists; and
- X-ray technicians (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9/22).
Population Growth
Researchers said California will need more allied health professionals to treat its growing and aging population.
The report projects that California will grow by an additional 10.2 million people by 2030. The population of residents older than age 65 is expected to double to nine million.
Training Programs Needed
Despite the growing demand for allied health workers, California's educational system has the capacity to train only 63% of the needed work force (Tong, Sacramento Bee, 9/22).
Susan Chapman, director of the Allied Health Care Workforce Project at UC-San Francisco, said training programs have difficulty recruiting enough instructors because faculty positions have relatively low pay (Sacramento Business Journal, 9/22).
The report suggests that unless the state ramps up training programs, health care providers will need to fill one-third of all allied health positions with out-of-state workers or Californians who leave the state for training (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 9/22). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.