FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2022
PRESS CONTACT: Ana Hornburg 517-908-8229 or [email protected]
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Health Council (MHC) was recently awarded a two-year $361,106 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund as part of their focus on workforce development issues to create a "Solutions Collaborative". The Collaborative will organize private and public-sector decision-makers to build health workforce capacity together. Building statewide healthcare workforce planning infrastructure is the main focus of the group.
"To maximize everyone’s time and resources, Michigan stakeholders need a central source for health workforce strategy," said Drew Murray, Senior Director for Strategy and Public Affairs at MHC. "MHC has the research, data, and implementation expertise needed to help establish priorities and work with our partners to communicate a common workforce agenda to policy leaders.”
The first phase of this work includes building an electronic database of Michigan’s existing health workforce initiatives. This inventory along with broad stakeholder input will inform the creation of a statewide health workforce plan that will be maintained by MHC.
"While our members are taking more on themselves, the Solutions Collaborative will offer health centers an efficient way to plug in and benefit from other workforce capacity-building efforts," said Rachel Ruddock, Workforce and Health Professions Training Manager at MPCA. “We have already seen the value MHC can provide and support their leadership on this collaborative effort.”
MHC will also create briefing documents detailing implementation steps to address the most pressing workforce gaps in Michigan to ensure the plan is put into action and the Collaborative is sustainable.
“Sustainability is a critical piece of all of our work,” said Craig Donahue, Vice President and COO at MHC. “We will need to finance coordinated planning and action after this grant ends to make sure we are all better prepared the next time workforce demand surges.”
National efforts promoting coordinated solutions are beginning to emerge. For example, the National Governors Association (NGA) launched the Next Generation of the Healthcare Workforce Learning Collaborative this year in response to the growing amount of healthcare professionals leaving the workforce. While Michigan is not one of the 14 states working with NGA, stakeholders in the state still have the opportunity through the Solutions Collaborative to share best practices, learn from experts, and execute an action plan.
"MHC will prioritize the needs of Michigan employers but maintain our strong ties to educators responsible for producing the next generation of health professionals," said Melanie Brim, President and CEO of MHC. "MHC is uniquely positioned to serve as the source for statewide health workforce strategy.”
MHC is seeking partners to participate in the Solutions Collaborative. For more information or to join, visit www.mhc.org/solutions.
About Michigan Health Council
Michigan Health Council (MHC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on a mission to create products and provide services their partners rely on to build healthcare workforce capacity. Learn more at mhc.org.
About Michigan Health Endowment Fund
The Michigan Health Endowment Fund works to improve the health and wellness of Michigan residents and reduce the cost of healthcare, with a special focus on children and seniors. You can find more information about the Health Fund at mihealthfund.org.