Mills Administration Hosts 2024 Health Workforce Summit

Apr 29, 2024

With health care jobs rebounded from the pandemic, Maine Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor convene health care leaders and innovators to advance progress in recruiting and retaining workers

AUGUSTA - The Maine Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Labor (DOL) today convened approximately 200 health care leaders and innovators at the Augusta Civic Center for the 2024 Health Workforce Summit. The full-day summit focused on advancing Maine's progress in recruiting and retaining workers in the health care field by sharing strategies that have been successful in growing and upskilling talent.

At the direction of Governor Mills, DHHS and DOL have developed and implemented a variety of programs to address the shortage of qualified health care workers in Maine. These initiatives were developed in collaboration with health system leaders to expand the talent pipeline and develop new workforce models to advance health equity and health care access for rural residents and other under-served populations. This work is centered around three key areas: recruitment, training and career ladders, and growing the provider pipeline.

Many of the health care workforce initiatives are part of Governor Mills' Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, which has invested more than $20 million in the state's vital health care workforce. Those investments are paying off. Since the start of the Jobs Plan health care workforce programs in January of 2022, Maine has more than recovered the number of health care jobs lost during the pandemic. Today, more than 111,000 people, including nurses, doctors, paramedics, and other professionals, are providing quality health care across Maine - a nearly 10 percent increase since January of 2022.

"Since my first day in office, I have worked to make health care more accessible and affordable for people and businesses in our state because I believe that Maine cannot have a healthy economy without healthy people," Governor Janet Mills said in a video message to summit attendees. "The pandemic only reinforced how important it is to have a strong health care system in the State of Maine. I am proud of the progress we have made so far. My Administration will continue to support health care workers and to strengthen our health care industry in the years to come."

"The Mills Administration's partnership with health care organizations, large and small, has both improved the health and wellbeing of residents and helped attract businesses and workers to Maine," said Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. "The heart of health care is its workforce so it is fitting that we gather today to share best practices to support and expand it."

"Our partnerships have been strengthening the health care workforce by encouraging people to pursue health care jobs in Maine, making it more affordable to become a health care professional by expanding 'earn and learn' opportunities and other programs, and making it easier to advance within health care careers," said Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. "Having clear pathways for individuals to gain skills and connect with careers is crucial to supporting not only our health care industry and its workforce, but patients who benefit from the care and expertise of these skilled workers."

Through the Jobs Plan, Maine has:

• Created and expanded job training programs to recruit more health care professionals, to create advancement opportunities for those professionals, and to grow the pipeline of health care providers into the future. So far, more than 2,200 people have participated in those programs to learn how to become CNAs, EMTs, pharmacists, dental assistants, and other health care professionals.
• Created a tuition remission program to allow front line health care workers to advance their careers through free or low-cost training. So far, more than 1,000 health care workers have enrolled in training at no cost to them or their employer.
• Increased funding for scholarships and student loan relief programs through FAME and the Doctors for Maine's Future Scholarship to enable more people to become physicians, behavioral health specialists, long term support workers, emergency medical services staff, and other health professionals.
• Expanded access to clinical placements for trainees in rural Maine to ensure that people can get high-quality health care throughout the state.

The summit brought together health and human service sector employers, education partners, and workforce development innovators to share best practices, opportunities, resources and strategies for growing and retaining the health workforce in Maine. Keynote speaker Joanna Pokaski, Assistant Vice President of Workforce Planning and Development at the Beth Israel Lahey Health system, the second largest private employer in Massachusetts with about 38,000 employees, spoke about innovation and collaboration in healthcare workforce development.

Breakout session speakers represented organizations including the Maine Department of Education, Area Health Education Centers, University of Maine System, Maine Community College System, Jobs for Maine Graduates, health systems, and the Roux Institute. Session topics included building career pathways through apprenticeship, growing and upskilling the front line workforce, new models in the health workforce ecosystem, strategies for recruiting rural providers, growing the workforce through training collaborations, and expanding the talent pipeline.

The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is Governor Mills' plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity.

Since the Jobs Plan took effect in 2021, over $750 million in Jobs Plan funding has been spent or committed to deliver results on behalf of Maine people. For more about the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, please visit maine.gov/jobsplan.