JobCenterofWisconsin.com debuts one-stop resource to connect healthcare employers with talent

Wisconsin Hospital Association collaborates with DWD, other partners to develop online content featuring employers, current job openings, employment and training information

STOUGHTON – Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Ray Allen joined Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary Linda Seemeyer, Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Borgerding and other partners today at Stoughton Hospital to announce the new Health Care Industry page on Wisconsin’s online public labor exchange, JobCenterofWisconsin.com (JCW).

The new page, developed in collaboration with WHA and other health care industry partners, is a one-stop online resource for information about health care careers, training resources, featured employers, current opportunities, high-growth occupations and other information about Wisconsin’s critical health care industry.

“Wisconsin will have almost a million jobs to fill from 2014-2024 due to growth and replacements, including an estimated 74,000 openings in health care,” Secretary Ray Allen said. “This new featured page, built in collaboration with industry thought leaders and other partners, is an innovative way to meet demand across the state for talent in high-wage, high-growth occupations.”

Secretary Allen thanked WHA leadership for stepping forward, identifying other partners and working with DWD to envision and identify content for this new resource.

Borgerding said WHA was pleased to partner with DWD to develop a resource that will help connect job seekers with health careers.

“All employers are finding it increasingly difficult to attract and hire enough workers to fill vacant positions. For a hospital, which must be staffed 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, 365-days a year, maintaining a fully-staffed facility is critically important to the health and safety of our communities,” according to Borgerding. “While hospitals are continuously finding innovative ways to deliver patient care more efficiently, health care is still delivered in a highly-personal, one-on-one environment. That dynamic makes staffing challenging, but it also creates opportunities for Wisconsin residents to work in a field that makes a difference in the lives of others.”

The health care Industry page is the sixth page of its kind since JCW was launched in 2008. Other featured industry pages include manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, finance/insurance, and energy. The page features a quick list of jobs available for health care and related occupations, training information for job seekers, as well as Industry-specific documents, reports, and trends.

Stoughton Hospital President & CEO Terrence Brenny noted Stoughton Hospital has used JobCenterofWisconsin.com for its recruitment needs for many years. He urged other health care employers to create an account with the site and consider becoming a featured employer on the industry page.

“Stoughton Hospital is proud to utilize Wisconsin’s JobCenterofWisconsin website to recruit and hire talented workers and honored to host today’s announcement regarding the website’s new Healthcare Industry page,” Brenny said. “The new webpage will alert job seekers to the thousands of opportunities that are and will become available in the next several years in the healthcare field, promoting employment in this key sector of Wisconsin’s economy.”

The additional JCW resources for health care industry opportunities and training are reflective of Governor Walker’s comprehensive agenda to develop Wisconsin’s health care workforce and strengthen the health care economy.

The Governor’s 2017-19 budget proposal makes several targeted investments in health care workforce development:

$1.5 million in fiscal year 2017-18 through WFF to provide grants to community-based organizations for public-private partnerships to create and implement nursing training programs for middle and high school students.
Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program – Governor Walker’s budget proposal also provides $200,000 in funding for the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program (WRPRAP), increasing funding for the program to $850,000. Created by 2009 Act 190, WRPRAP provides financial support to rural hospitals, residency programs, and health systems to advance the development of rural rotations and rural training tracks in the state and expand access to physicians and other medical workers in rural Wisconsin. The program is administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Family Medicine.
Youth Nursing Training Increase – The budget proposal provides $1.5 million for Nursing Training programs to help meet the growing workforce needs of the health care industry. This funding supports grants to community-based organizations for public-private partnerships to create and implement a nursing training program for middle and high school students.
Personal Care Rate Increase – The budget proposal supports Personal Care program direct care workforce by providing a two percent increase of $5,034,300 in fiscal year 2017-18 and a two percent increase of $9,936,300 in fiscal year 2018-19 to address increase program participant acuity.
Nursing Home Rate Increase – Governor Walker’s budget proposal provides a two percent increase in fiscal year 2017-18 of $18,354,900 and a two percent increase in fiscal year 2018-19 of $33,118,900 to support Wisconsin’s nursing home direct care workforce and increased resident acuity in nursing homes and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The funding also enhances behavioral and cognitive impairment incentives.

The JCW health care industry page is accessible at: https://jobcenterofwisconsin.com/HealthCare/Default.aspx