Project

California Workforce Initiative

Changes in the delivery of health care have a profound impact upon, and are affected by, the 10.5 million health care workers whose labor costs account for almost 70% of health care expenditures. The goal of California Workforce Initiative (CWI), which ran from January 2000 through March 2005, was to improve understanding of California health care workforce issues and to advance the ability of health care workers, at all levels, to contribute to improving the health of Californians.

This multiyear initiative was designed to explore, promote, and advance reform within the California health care workforce. The initiative targeted supply and distribution, diversity, skill base and regulation of health workers; utilization of the health care workforce; and workers in transition. It also sought to support consumer and public understanding of these workers during a time of change and transition. Central components included a health leadership development fellowship, a study of physicians, examination of the nursing workforce, and improving work conditions for allied health professionals.

Reports produced under the California Workforce Initiative include:

• Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics in California (January 2004)
• Diagnostic Imaging Professionals in California (October 2003)
• Massage Therapists in California (September 2003)
• Respiratory Care Practitioners in California (July 2003)
• The Clinical Laboratory Workforce in California (June 2003)
• Chiropractic Care in California (May 2003)
• Health Care Interpreters in California (April 2003)
• Acupuncture in California (April 2003)
• Pharmacy Technicians in California: Snapshot of an Emerging Profession (March 2003)
• The Mental Health Workforce: Who’s Meeting California’s Needs? (February 2003)
• Nursing for the Public's Health: A Profile of Public Health Nurses in Five California Counties (December 2002)
• Admission Policies and Attrition Rates in California Community College Nursing Programs
• California Physicians 2002: Practice and Perceptions (December 2002)
• Pharmacy Staffing: A Silent but Critical Concern (July 2002)
• California’s Open Door Providers: Ten Case Studies of the Health Care Workforce (July 2002)
• The Practice of Medicine in California: A Profile of the Physician Workforce (February 2001)
• Diversifying the Nursing Workforce: A California Imperative (February 2001)
• Nursing in California: A Workforce Crisis (January 2001)
• Minimum Nurse Staffing Ratios in California Acute Care Hospitals (December 2000)
• Improving Oral Health Care Systems in California: A Report of the California Dental Access Project (2000)

The California Workforce Initiative was administered by a program office at the Center for the Health Professions that identifies and develops new areas of study and policy work while coordinating existing efforts and communicating results to state and national audiences. For more information and to read the reports, visit the Center for the Health Professions Web site through the link below.