By: Jodi Harpstead, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Jan Malcolm, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Health; Heather Mueller, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education; Steve Grove, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development; Dennis Olson, Commissioner, Minnesota Office of Higher Education

As we mark the end of the Health Care Month today, the State of Minnesota is not ending its efforts to address our critical health care workforce shortage. These efforts continue full strength.

Here is a look back at our efforts in over the past few months.

Health care has long been an industry that's helped Minnesota stand apart. Almost 400,000 Minnesotans work in the sector, and our state is home to some of the biggest names in medicine in the world.

However, the industry faces a crisis: an unprecedented health care workforce shortage that's impacting thousands of Minnesotans at a critical point in our fight against the pandemic.

Right now, some emergency room patients can't be moved to a hospital room because there aren't enough employees available to open more beds. Older Minnesotans struggle finding long-term care because there aren't enough staff to take care of them. The same shortage is affecting people with disabilities living in the community. With nearly 40,000 vacancies, unfilled health care positions account for nearly one in every five job vacancies in Minnesota. But it's not just today's health care workforce we need to be concerned about – Minnesota is projected to add 60,000 new health care jobs over the next decade.

Governor Walz brought state agencies together to rally resources and address the shortage – through immediate emergency measures and efforts to recruit and train additional health care workers in the coming weeks and months. As part of these efforts, the Governor proclaimed January as Health Care Month to raise awareness about the many employment opportunities in health care and encourage more Minnesotans to join in this noble, lifesaving work. We want to share some of what we're doing and ask for Minnesotans' help in tackling this challenge together.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and its local partners in CareerForce are hosting health care hiring events around the state. In addition, CareerForce staff are highlighting health care opportunities in their ongoing calls to Minnesotans receiving unemployment benefits. Many entry-level health care positions can be started with on-the-job employer-provided training. There's high demand for many health care positions, from direct patient care to administration; from housekeeping to culinary workers. To find out more about working in health care, call 651-259-7500.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has intensified efforts to address the workforce shortage in services for older Minnesotans and people with disabilities. This includes emergency distribution of $50 million in retention/hiring bonuses for thousands of nursing home workers, increased payment rates for personal care assistants who help individuals in their homes, and higher Medicaid reimbursements to providers.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is monitoring the capacity of our hospitals to provide care and working with provider associations, professional boards, and other stakeholders to address delays in the professional certification processes. MDH is also connecting long-term care providers with temporary staff who can meet their short-term COVID-related worker shortages.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) continues to support school districts that offer health care career pathways in their high schools, including Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training. MDE is now partnering with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) to offer free CNA training to high school students through coursework outside of school, and support 10 additional high schools throughout Minnesota in establishing in-school facilities to train and certify nursing assistants.

OHE is leading an effort to train 1,000 CNAs for employment at long-term care locations. To do this, MinnState and partner organizations are offering free CNA training. As of last week, 558 Minnesotans had enrolled in this training to become a CNA, currently the sixth most in-demand occupation in the state.

In addition, the Governor has taken recent emergency steps to address health care workforce shortages, including: securing federal emergency teams to support staff at four Minnesota hospitals; working with long-term care facilities to launch alternative care sites to free up hospital beds for those who need acute care; activating 400 Minnesota National Guard members to assist at skilled-nursing facilities experiencing severe staffing shortages; and most recently bringing in 200 registered nurses and respiratory therapists to work 60-hour weeks for two months to support hospitals overwhelmed by COVID patients during the latest surge.

Health care workforce a priority in the Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward.

Proposals aimed at addressing Minnesota's health care workforce shortage are included in the Walz-Flanagan economic plan overview here.

Revitalize Our Health Care Workforce

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of investing in our health care workforce. Minnesota hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities face severe staffing shortages, with more than 40,000 open positions needing to be filled. Investing in this high-need career area is vital for the future health of our state. We must break down financial barriers and ensure students see health care as a viable field if we want to fill these open positions and provide Minnesotans with the care they need and deserve. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor's budget makes critical investments in the health care workforce, building on recent programs like free certified nursing training and the Minnesota Future Together Grant, both of which provide tuition-free pathways for students in high-need career areas.

The health care workforce crisis is acute now, but it risks becoming a chronic problem unless we make big changes. At a time when so many people are reconsidering their options in a dynamic economy, choosing a career path in health care is full of purpose and potential. When your fellow Minnesotans need help, answering the call for a career in this field is an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference.

The Minnesota Departments of Employment and Economic Development, Education, Health, Human Services and the Office of Higher Education are all engaged in efforts to raise awareness about and get Minnesotans connected to careers in health care. Find out more at CareerForceMN.com/HealthCare.