Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University announced Thursday the launch of the GW Health Workforce Institute, which aims to augment health workforce policies with research and find solutions for provider shortages and other workforce-related issues.
"A robust and well-trained workforce is an essential component of an effective healthcare system," Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, a professor of medicine and health policy at GW's school of public health and school of medicine and health sciences, said in a statement. "The institute hopes to advance the development of policies that address the quality, supply, distribution and use of the healthcare workforce to improve access to high-quality and affordable care."
The GW Health Workforce Institute will leverage the expertise of more than 30 faculty members and staff at GW's Milken Institute of School of Public Health and five other GW schools, providing a range of backgrounds in health policy, economics, anthropology, health services research, medicine, nursing and other areas.
GW hopes the institute will help fill a void left by the National Health Workforce Commission, a commission that was proposed under the Affordable Care Act, but never funded.
Support for GW's institute will come from government and private donors, including NIH, the MacArthur Foundation, Health Resources and Services Administration, The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.
More articles on integration and physician issues:
3 key recommendations from ABIM's assessment of MOC
Dr. Glenn Steele: A 3-step approach to physician reimbursement
University of Michigan Health System creates hand transplant program