2022 HIP Community Forum Recap

In partnership with the Santa Cruz County Workforce Development Board, HIP hosted its 2022 Annual Community Forum, Growing our Own: Cultivating Health Career Pathways in Santa Cruz County on Wednesday, September 14th in Aptos, CA.

HIP’s Annual Community Forum united and engaged the greater Santa Cruz County community in meaningful conversation around strategies for improving the healthcare workforce. This year’s forum aimed to re-energize community partnerships and engagement in HIP’s recently launched Santa Cruz County Health Workforce Council to increase opportunities for Santa Cruz County residents to advance in health professions and align and expand education and training through pipeline programs, work-based learning, and continued professional development for incumbent workers.

Keynote speaker, Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health and author of WorkforceRx: Agile and Inclusive Strategies for Employers, Educators, and Workers in Unsettled Times shared insights from her book on a solutions framework for tackling workforce challenges that incorporate employers, educators, and community-based organizations and workforce development boards. This framework produces skilled workers who are diverse and from the community in a reliable way and encourages stacking credentials to create on-ramps and off-ramps for students and incumbent workers to pursue healthcare careers.

In addition to Ton-Quinlivan, a recorded presentation from Abby Snay, Deputy Secretary of the Future of Work with California Labor and Workforce Development Agency on state funding for the health workforce was shared, and engaging presentations from Josh Williams, President at BW Research Partnership, Inc., on the 2022 Santa Cruz County State of the Workforce Report, which included a deeper dive into health workforce data across the county, and Laura Marcus, CEO of Dientes Dental Community Care, on their successful workforce investment programs which includes, but not limited to, scholarships, on-the-job training and residency programs, partnerships with local training institutions, and a commitment to hiring diverse staff, rounded out the session.

At the close of the event, the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project was awarded HIP’s Community Impact Award, presented by Jonathan Engleman, District Representative Office of Senator John Laird, and Dominic Dursa, District Director Office of Assemblymember Robert Rivas, in acknowledgment of their success in purchasing Watsonville Community Hospital.