Calif. can't train enough health workers

Published online on Sunday, Sep. 27, 2009

For years, Fresno City College has run a lottery to select students for some popular health majors.

The problem: Too few slots, too many students.

Now, a new report underlines the growing mismatch between the demand for allied health workers -- dental hygienists, radiologic technologists and lab technicians, for example -- and the state's ability to educate them.

The study, conducted by Beacon Economics and financed by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation, projects that the state will need to train nearly 1 million more allied health workers by 2030.

In the Fresno/Visalia area, as many as 130,000 workers will be needed in the next 20 years.

Many allied health professions require specific job training or certification, and community colleges provide much of the training. Yet higher education institutions aren't equipped to handle the volume, research shows.

The report, "Help Wanted: Will Californians Miss Out on a Billion-Dollar Growth Industry?" estimates that up to 375,000 jobs -- or one in three -- will have to be filled by newcomers to the state or by residents forced to seek training outside California.

Programs already are falling behind, said Brad Kemp, lead researcher for the report.

"We're seeing today ... long wait lines at some of these schools," he said. "They are graduating at capacity."

The state's growing -- and aging -- population is driving the need. In the next 20 years, according to the report, the number of Californians over age 65 will more than double, and the state will add more than 10 million people.

By 2030, the state will need nearly 1 million more allied health workers to replace those leaving or retiring and to fill new jobs.

The projections come as no surprise to many local officials in health care and education.

Lynne Ashbeck, regional vice president for the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, said similar studies tell the same story.

"The shortages are well-documented, and there are many efforts to try to get ahead of those shortages," she said. Ashbeck called it "challenging" to manage the equation of educational space, faculty and money to produce more workers.

Community college officials say budgets and a lack of clinical room -- in labs or pharmacies, for example -- can hold down class sizes. Students often need hands-on experience to complete programs.

Ginny Burdick, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, said waiting lists for classes and programs can drive potential students into other fields.

"By not having the capacity to train, you're not going to have the people to train," she said.

Medical and community college officials say they work together to assess and meet the demand. The College of the Sequoias in Visalia, for example, is launching a physical therapy assistant program because of local industry need.

Cindy DeLain, dean of nursing and allied health at COS, said the college already offers a variety of allied health-training programs. And every semester, DeLain said, "the seats are full."