Programs & Resources /

Workforce

California is not producing enough health care workers to meet the needs of a growing, aging, and rapidly diversifying population. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the crisis.

CHCF is dedicated to creating a health workforce that will enable all Californians, no matter where they live, to receive high-quality care from professionals who reflect the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the communities they serve. The north star in this work is the groundbreaking recommendations of the 2019 California Future Health Workforce Commission.

Bridging the Care Gap: Addressing California’s Health Care Workforce Needs

California is not producing enough health care workers to meet the needs of a growing, aging, and rapidly diversifying population. Building a representative workforce can improve the health of Californians and the quality of care they receive.

Understanding California’s Community Health Worker/Promotor Workforce: A Deep Dive into CHW/P Employer Perspectives

Healthforce Center at UCSF

This report describes employers’ perspectives of many facets of the community health worker/promoter profession, including training, primary roles and skills, billing, recruitment and retention, and future directions.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Health Equity, Workforce

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the disparities in the state’s recruitment and retention of Latino/x and Black medical students.

External Resource

California Future Health Workforce Commission

Top leaders from across the state are working together to close the gap between the health workforce we have and the workforce we need.

Primary Care Matters

Health care systems with strong levels of primary care investment have better and more equitable health outcomes, lower care costs, and better care quality. We can build a healthier future for all Californians by focusing resources back to patients and their relationship with primary care providers.

Improving and Expanding Programs to Support a Diverse Health Care Workforce

Urban Institute

CHCF commissioned the Urban Institute to conduct a national study of health care pathway programs to examine the persistent barriers and challenges facing aspiring doctors and nurses from systemically and structurally excluded groups. The study draws from interviews and focus groups with dozens of students, professionals, and field leaders.

California Medicine Scholars Program Prepares to Take Flight

Anne Sunderland

Health Equity, Workforce

The California Medicine Scholars Program plans to shepherd students of color from community college through medical school and beyond.

Understanding California’s Community Health Worker/Promotor Workforce

A new series of reports aims to paint a more complete picture of the community health worker/promoter workforce in California, as well as challenges and opportunities related to training and employment. Reports will be released between the fall of 2022 and summer of 2023.

Community Health Workers and Promotores de Salud

Health Equity, Workforce

Community health workers and promotores de salud have long played a vital role in promoting health and well-being, particularly in communities historically not well served by the health care system. The need to expand this important workforce takes on new urgency in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Workforce Strategies for California

This collection of publications examines the evidence on the impact of key health workforce policy interventions, such as pipeline and loan repayment programs, to achieve goals like diversifying the workforce, increasing the number of health professionals who provide care in a language other than English, and increasing access to care in medically underserved areas.

2021 Edition — California’s Health Care Workforce

Timothy Bates, Amber R. Rose

California's health care industry employed more than 1.7 million people in 2019. Six Almanac quick reference guides provide data on wages, education, and workplaces for selected health professions.

2021 Edition — California Physicians

Janet Coffman, Emmie Calimlim, Margaret Fix, MPH

Although the number of active physicians increased by 21% between 2006 and 2018, and exceeded the 10% population growth, many areas in California face substantial shortages of primary care providers and specialists. This Almanac report describes the state's landscape for physician services.