While daily media coverage has focused on frontline workers in hospitals treating COVID-19, the kidney care community has also been adversely impacted by the extreme disruption in the workforce.
During November legislative days, the Washington Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee, and the Oregon House Interim Committee on Health Care, met to discuss workforce shortage issues in the health care industry. The NW Kidney Council submitted a letter to each of the committees detailing the specific issues facing kidney care providers. In particular, the letter highlights the impact of workforce turnover and retirement, health care workforce migration, delays in credentialing, and the limited pipelines available to create new kidney health care workers.
NW Kidney Council strongly believes that despite these challenges, there are areas where progress can be made to aid Washington and Oregon’s health care workforce. In the letter the NW Kidney Council proposed a couple of following legislative solutions to address the workforce shortages the kidney community is experiencing across the state, such as: investing in health care workforce training programs and expediting the credentialing process for health care workers.
We urge the members of the Washington and Oregon legislatures to take these matters into serious consideration moving forward. The NW Kidney Council is committed to partnering with elected leaders to develop strategies to address these challenges and invest in long-term solutions for a strong Northwest health care workforce.
Read our letter to Washington legislators.
Read our letter to Oregon legislators.
Watch a recording of the Washington meeting here, and Oregon here.