As Northeast Wisconsin’s health care workforce challenges grow more complex, New North, Inc. is using its industry alliance model to solve them from a regional perspective.
Last fall, the regional economic development organization launched the NEW Healthcare Alliance, a collaborative effort designed to better align health care employers, educators and community partners across the 18 counties of Northeast Wisconsin.
New North already leads alliances focused on industries such as construction, technology, entrepreneurship, education and others.
“We have these models of success engaging in industry-specific conversations,” says Rebecca Deschane, vice president of talent development for New North, Inc. “We can amplify opportunities and can more quickly address challenges.”
One of NEW Healthcare Alliance’s goals is to reduce duplication within the health care ecosystem. Three separate health care alliances in Green Bay, the Fox Valley and Lakeshore were working on similar issues locally, but Deschane says New North’s board of directors recognized the need for a unified approach.
“What we wanted to do was better understand what each of them was doing, where they were seeing gaps, and then scale that to other communities so there’s growth across the entire region,” she says.
Accelerating this work is a major two‑year grant from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The $250,000 two-year grant began Nov. 1.
“[The grant] gives us a two-year runway to really pull everybody together and not have to bootstrap the process along the way,” Deschane says. “We’ll have an opportunity to bring on a project coordinator who can align those efforts and be able to run with those opportunities.”
The grant also includes a partnership with the MCW research team that will evaluate the alliance structure, measure engagement and assess the new clinical placement process. Deschane says a research partnership with MCW makes the alliance a replicable model for other regions in the state.
In addition to the formation of the alliance itself, initial efforts will center around attracting and retaining the health care workforce, expanding career exploration for secondary and post-secondary students, continuing high-quality clinical placements and ensuring the region can meet future health care demand, particularly in nursing and rural care.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, 2023 vacancy rates across health care professions have stabilized but remain concerning, particularly for registered nurses whose vacancy rate reached 10.1% in 2022. The workforce shortage often is more pronounced in rural areas, leading to disparities in services.
Deschane says the health care industry is growing from a youth apprenticeship standpoint and has now surpassed manufacturing and construction as the most requested apprenticeship by students.
“We have a greater need and desire within the space that makes it the right time for us to really pull it together from a regional perspective and identify ways to support it,” Deschane says.
Get involved
The NEW Healthcare Alliance began monthly virtual meetings in August and is actively welcoming health care employers, educators, nonprofits and community partners. Interested organizations and individuals can sign up through New North’s website to receive updates, attend meetings and participate in future working committees.
The alliance is building momentum against a shifting policy landscape. New limits on federal student loans for nursing degrees and proposed Medicaid cuts affecting rural hospitals add urgency to the need for regional coordination.
“We have really unique opportunities here, especially as we address some of the challenges. There’s a lot of headwinds that are ahead of us, but being able to work together can really help mitigate [them],” Deschane says. “We can take advantage of our willingness to collaborate to support those needs across the region.”
For more information, visit https://www.thenewnorth.com/talent/talent-alliances/healthcare-alliances/.
