Improving Recruitment and Training and Building the Pipeline of the Region’s Healthcare Workforce
The core mission of our local hospitals is to care for people. Health care is labor-intensive, and our hospitals need skilled, trained, and dedicated professionals, 24 hours per day/seven days per week, to achieve optimal health outcomes.
Increasing the region’s healthcare workforce has never been more important than it is today. Our hospitals are preparing for the increase in demand that is projected in our region in the next 25 years to ensure quality healthcare for residents throughout our region.
Over the next 25 years, the population in the central Ohio region is expected to grow by 30%, adding 726,000 new residents to our community. The total population of the region is estimated to be 3.14 million people in 2050, up from 2.42 million in 2020. (Source: Mid-Ohio regional Planning Commission: 2024 – 2050 Population Growth Forecasts).
Growth in older population
While the total population in the region is expected to grow 30% over the next 25 years, the central Ohio region is expected to see a 40% increase in the number of residents 65 years of age and older. There were 162,300 residents aged 65 and older in central Ohio in 2020; that number is expected to increase to 226,000 by 2050. (Source: Miami University Scripps Gerontology Center).
We’ve already seen growth in the older population. Over the last 4 years, total population of the Columbus metro grew 1.9% while population growth for those 65 and older grew 11.6%. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau).
Our hospitals are currently facing a number of workforce challenges. And those challenges will grow as the community’s need for increased healthcare capacity grows.
The 4 Franklin County hospital systems currently employ nearly 84,000 central Ohio residents. Collectively, they have almost 6,500 open positions.
As our hospital systems expand their capacity to meet the needs of our growing region, it is estimated that roughly 6,000 new jobs will be created across the 4 hospital systems over the next few years.
The four Franklin County hospital systems, along with Primary One Health, are working collaboratively to connect Ohioans to stable, fulfilling and high-paying careers in the rapidly growing healthcare sector. The Healthcare Career Collaborative of Central Ohio, managed by Aspyr Workforce Innovations, is working to assist local students, young adults exploring career paths or experienced professionals looking for career change learn more about a career in healthcare. Visit the Healthcare Career Collaborative’s website at https://www.healthcarecareersohio.org/
Students in K-12 interested in learning more about the health care industry and the variety of career opportunities it offers can visit the following websites:
Nationwide Children’s Hospital — www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/courses-for-parents-and-kids/student-education-opportunities
OhioHealth — careers.ohiohealth.com/student-opportunities/
OSU Wexner Medical Center — wexnermedical.osu.edu/careers/current-openings/health-care-career-exploration-programs
This report, developed under the guidance of the AHA Board of Trustees’ Task Force on Workforce and with input from many members of the AHA, will help hospitals navigate workforce challenges and opportunities, as well as highlight strategies and resources to assist on these pivotal efforts.
The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) helps public and private organizations understand how changes in population will affect future national workforce demands.
https://bhw.hrsa.gov/data-research/projecting-health-workforce-supply-demand