CHCs Grow Washington's Health Care Workforce

Community health centers across the state not only provide high-quality, affordable health care to Washingtonians, they also help to train the next generation of health care workers. Through  job and skills training, workplace education, and career growth, community health centers invest in their communities and strengthen healthcare infrastructure by investing in people.

Community health centers grow the workforce in a variety of ways, including by:

• Hiring people from the communities they serve

• Offering paid internships and apprenticeships

• Providing on-the-job training

• Creating residency programs for a variety of health care fields

• Awarding staff scholarships to use toward their degree

The following examples highlight strategies that different CHCs across the state use to foster the next wave of community health professionals.

• NEW Health offers paid, on-the-job training through their dental assistant and pharmacy technician training programs and their medical assistant apprenticeship program.

• ICHS offers supportive paid internships, apprenticeships, and residencies for pharmacy, nursing, medical assistant, and dental assistant students and recent graduates.

• Over the past five years, HealthPoint has created more than 2,413 health care jobs in 20 clinics across King County.

Workforce shortages are a challenge for many health care organizations, and cuts to health care due to HR1 implementation and other federal changes will make the situation worse. Community health centers continue to step up by helping ensure that community members get the training and expertise needed to fill health care gaps.

Reach out to your local community health center to learn more about workforce development programs in your area. You can find your closest center by visiting the Health Resources and Services Administration here.