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Regional Partnership in Southern Virginia to Strengthen Healthcare Workforce Development

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Regional Partnership in Southern Virginia to Strengthen Healthcare Workforce Development

Regional Partnership in Southern Virginia to Strengthen Healthcare Workforce Development

~ Claude Moore Opportunities bringing together public and private sector stakeholders, including educational institutions and employers, to better align the region’s healthcare workforce development efforts and create career opportunities ~

As part of a new statewide initiative called the Virginia Partnership for Health Science Careers, a regional partnership in Southern Virginia will bring together schools, hospitals, healthcare providers, and workforce development professionals from the public and private sector to expand the area’s healthcare workforce, create meaningful career opportunities, and meet the needs of communities throughout Southern Virginia. The Southern Virginia Partnership for Health Science Careers will work to implement Collaborating to Address Regional Workforce Challenges: A Roadmap, an “off-the-shelf” guide to establish and operate regional, employer-engaged workforce development collaboratives in Virginia with a focus on healthcare careers.

The regional healthcare workforce partnership will be coordinated by Dr. Julie Brown, Vice President of Advanced Learning at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), and involve partners including Sovah Health, Sentara Halifax, PATHS, VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital, GO Virginia Region 3, Southside Virginia Community College, Danville Community College, Patrick & Henry Community College, and Virginia Career Works South Central and West Piedmont regions, along with the region’s Community Service Boards. The partnership will serve communities including the cities of Danville and Martinsville; and the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward.

To support the partnership’s success, Claude Moore Opportunities has helped convene the needed regional stakeholders, provided financial support for the partnership and healthcare workforce development programs throughout the region, and its partners at the George Mason University Center for Health Workforce have provided data on current and expected healthcare workforce shortages in the region.

“At Claude Moore, we believe that coordinated, regional partnerships are the most promising approach for creating meaningful career opportunities while meeting the healthcare needs of our citizens and strengthening regional economies throughout Virginia,” said Dr. Bill Hazel, CEO of Claude Moore Opportunities. “We are proud to be part of a true collaborative effort that builds on the work that local officials have been doing for years and look forward to the positive impact that this partnership will have on families and communities throughout the region.”

“IALR is proud to serve as a convener in GO Virginia Region 3, activating The Roadmap developed by Claude Moore and the Secretary of Labor and replicating the successful Blue Ridge Partnership model,” said partnership coordinator Dr. Julie Brown (IALR’s Vice President of Advanced Learning). “Developing collaborative partnerships, driven through private sector engagement and focused on data-driven solutions, will enable us to collectively address our region’s healthcare talent needs.”

In addition to the regional partnership for Southern Virginia, partnerships have now been established in each region of the state as part of the Virginia Partnership for Health Science Careers, a new statewide effort led by Claude Moore Opportunities to better coordinate healthcare workforce development in communities around the Commonwealth. The network’s workforce development efforts will focus on the careers that create strong, accessible medical, dental, and behavioral/mental health systems such as technicians, assistants, and aides, with an emphasis on the positions that community leaders and healthcare providers identify as most critical for their region.

The Southern Virginia Partnership for Health Science Careers has already begun its work and held several regional meetings, while the overarching Virginia Partnership for Health Science Careers has held two statewide summits to share strategies and best practices.

The Healthcare Workforce Shortage in Southern Virginia

According to a comprehensive 2023 study for the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority, 102 of Virginia’s 133 localities are federally designated “Health Professional Shortage Areas” and 93 localities are “Mental Healthcare Professional Shortage Areas,” meaning about 30% of Virginians live in a community without a sufficient number of primary and behavioral healthcare providers.
Based on an analysis of active job ads performed by the], it is estimated that, in order to meet the community’s healthcare demands in Southern Virginia, the region needs:

  • 905 registered nurses
  • 382 social and human service assistants
  • 252 licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses
  • 227 physical therapists
  • 156 nursing assistants
  • 121 personal care aides
  • 109 mental health and substance abuse social workers
    *(As of 2024Q3)

Southern Virginia also needs 131 postsecondary health specialties teachers to train and educate the next generation of healthcare and life sciences workers.
The GMU Center for Health Workforce analysis found that the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole needs:

  • 17,537 registered nurses
  • 10,670 medical and human services managers
  • 9,171 social and human services assistants
  • 3,751 physical therapists
  • 3,090 licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
  • 2,760 nursing assistants
  • 2,412 mental health and substance abuse social workers
  • 2,282 personal care aides
    *(As of 2024Q4)

The Commonwealth also needs 1,711 postsecondary health specialties teachers to train and educate the next generation of healthcare and life sciences workers.

About The Roadmap and Sector Partnerships

The Roadmap was developed collaboratively by Claude Moore, Virginia Works, and Virginia Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater with input from stakeholders around the Commonwealth including public and private sector workforce and economic development professionals, educators, and major employers. It represents a significant new embrace of the “sector-based strategy” that is emerging nationally as a successful method of creating a larger pool of skilled workers to capitalize on a community’s strengths and meet its unique needs.
The keys to the success of The Roadmap’s approach are its emphasis on wide stakeholder engagement to ensure a region’s trainings and educational offerings match its needs, and the creation of flexible professional development opportunities with “on and off ramps” so that Virginians can take their education as far as they wish while staying engaged with the workforce.
The Roadmap was released in September 2024 to stakeholders who contributed to it and public and private sector partners who can benefit from its use including local workforce boards, economic and workforce development professionals and agencies, the Virginia Community College System, Chambers of Commerce, major employers, and more.
The strategies explained in the Roadmap are applicable to any industry or sector that requires concerted workforce development efforts with a specific focus on healthcare workforce because of Virginia’s considerable needs, the complexity of healthcare workforce development, and Claude Moore’s unique expertise in this area.

Growing Registered Apprenticeships – Sovah Health Grooms Sonography Apprentices

Growing Registered Apprenticeships – Sovah Health Grooms Sonography Apprentices

Two apprentices started the sonography apprenticeship with Sovah Health in January 2021. Macy McBride and Kelsey Moore were both previously registered X-ray technicians, employed through Sovah Health for the past 5-6 years. They began the program in hopes of learning and growing in their professional career.

“We were grateful for the experience and the opportunity to learn and grow as individuals as we continued our education,” said McBride and Moore. “The apprenticeship made it possible for us to achieve our goals of becoming sonographers. We would advocate future apprenticeships for any student wanting to further their education while completing on-the-job training as well as formal classroom training. To us and to all future students, the benefits of an apprenticeship are well worth it.”

Both have now completed all the apprenticeship requirements, including the instructional program, on-the-job training and board exams. They remain employed with Sovah Health but now also as registered sonographers. Their plans moving forward are to continue to grow as sonographers by studying and taking their vascular as well as their OB/GYN board exams.

In October 2020, Sovah Health-Danville and IALR launched a sonography training program, the first of its kind in Southern Virginia, to fill a regional workforce shortage for registered sonographers. The accelerated 12-month certificate program will help develop and retain regional talent and meet local health care employers’ recruitment needs for this critical occupation.

Sovah Sonography Program Director Elaine Nichols demonstrates ultrasound techniques to Emily Van Pelt, Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (TRRC) Grants Specialist. The start-up training for the program was funded by TRRC.

Sovah Health – Danville, IALR Launch Region’s First Sonography Training Program

Sovah Health – Danville, IALR Launch Region’s First Sonography Training Program

Tobacco Commission grant to assist with start-up, help fill sonographer shortage

Sovah Health – Danville and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) are launching a new Sonography Training Program, the first of its kind in Southern Virginia, to fill a regional workforce shortage for registered sonographers. The accelerated 12-month certificate program will help develop and retain regional talent and meet local health care employers’ recruitment needs. 

“Sovah Health values education and with the success of our Radiologic Technology Program, we are excited to be able to provide the new Sonography School to our community with a wide variety of challenging and rewarding career options,” said Alan Larson, Market President, Sovah Health and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sovah Health – Danville. “We are proud to be able to invest in a high-demand professional skill that will prepare these students for a career in a rapidly growing field in health care.”

Regional health care providers like Sovah Health have expressed limited access to registered sonographers, which has led to unfilled positions and dependence on outside resources like temporary/traveling talent services. In the past, the nearest training programs were located in Charlottesville and Winston Salem. A local program, located at Sovah Health – Danville, is anticipated to help resolve the workforce shortage, which could deepen if not addressed. According to Career Education Colleges and Universities, over the next decade, the demand for medical sonographers will grow by 23 percent, over three times the national average.

Elaine Nichols, Sonography Program Director, with students teaching ultrasound techniques.

The start-up of the training program will be supported by a $238,775 grant from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission and matched with support from Sovah Health and IALR. Sovah Health will lead, develop and execute the training program. IALR will serve as fiscal agent and, in conjunction with the Dan River Region Collaborative, will oversee exploration of opportunities for what would be the state’s second registered health care apprenticeship with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

“We are thrilled to help meet the needs of our region’s health care providers while preparing our local talent for highly skilled, competitive-wage job opportunities,” said Dr. Julie Brown, Director of Advanced Learning at IALR and Project Director of the Dan River Region Collaborative. “I look forward to steering the exploration of a state-registered apprenticeship opportunity that leverages work-based learning best practices to produce career-ready graduates for our employers.”

Qualified candidates for the training program include students who have already earned a two-year associate’s health degree or a degree in another discipline such as radiologic technology, registered nursing or registered respiratory therapy. Additionally, students with a bachelor’s degree and course work in physics and anatomy are qualified to apply to the program. The Sonography Training Program would provide an opportunity to upgrade their skills with an additional year of training and be considered for high-wage, high-demand jobs.

Sovah Health – Danville’s School of Health Professions offers an associate degree in radiologic technology, which presents a pathway opportunity for the Sonography Training Program. Sovah’s accredited Radiologic

Technology program, in practice since 2004, boasts a 94-percent five-year pass rate and a 100-percent five-year job placement rate.

Graduates of the Sonography Training Program will be qualified to take two nationally recognized certification exams. The American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) is the most highly regarded certifying body. Additionally, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) offers certification in sonography.

Those interested in applying for the Sonography Training Program should complete the application located on Sovah Health’s website. For more information, call 434-799-2271 and ask for the School of Health Professions Program Director or Sonography Program Director. The deadline for applications is Dec. 15, 2021, and financial aid is available for those qualified.

Sovah Health – Danville is excited to welcome the new Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program Director, Elaine Nichols, MSSL, BS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, R(T)R, ACUE. Elaine comes to Danville from Bedford, VA where she worked at Piedmont Virginia Community College as the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program Director. She obtained her Bachelor of Radiologic Sciences from College of Health and Life Sciences in Roanoke, Master of Strategic Sciences from Mountain State University, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Leadership Studies from the University of Lynchburg. In her spare time, Elaine enjoys reading, embroidery, quilting, and serving on the Virginia Society of Ultrasound.

Elaine will have virtual meet and greet zoom sessions for potential students to ask questions and learn more about the program. The first session will be October 16th at 5pm. For more information on these sessions, contact elaine.nichols@lpnt.net.

About Sovah Health

Sovah Health is a regional healthcare delivery system, serving the south-central Virginia and north central North Carolina region. It is comprised of two hospital campuses, one in Danville and the other in Martinsville. The Danville campus is the leading medical center in the Dan River Region of Virginia and North Carolina employing approximately 1300 people and with 175 physicians are on the medical staff. The Martinsville campus has been at the heart of the Martinsville and Henry County community and the surrounding area providing exceptional healthcare and services to the region since 1970. Sovah Health – Martinsville has more than 120 physicians on the medical staff and employs more than 850 people.