Center for American Progress

Health care workforce challenges require transformative thinking on equity, pay
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Health care workforce challenges require transformative thinking on equity, pay

Authors Livia Lam and Daniel Bustillo examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed workforce inequities in pay and job quality in the health care industry .

Every day, the COVID-19 pandemic shows — in stark, heartbreaking detail — how health care workforce and equipment shortages create impossible life or death choices in health care settings across the country. The crisis demands a seismic shift in health care workforce development in the United States, coupled with a bold re-envisioning of workforce development policy, to improve job quality and equity.

While health care employment is the largest source of jobs in the U.S., the quality of these jobs depends on the occupation. For example, nursing assistants make about $29,000 a year — or about $14.25 per hour — and often lack access to benefits, including health care and paid leave. These jobs are physically and emotionally demanding, with often unpredictable work schedules.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Daniel Bustillo

Livia Lam

Senior Fellow; Director, Workforce Development