02.15.07

Cantwell Reintroduces Legislation to Address Critical Shortage of Health Care Professionals

Plan would improve patient care, strengthen and expand training for lab technicians, emergency medical workers, other allied health professionals

WASHINGTON, DC - Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) reintroduced her legislation to address the ongoing shortage in a broad range of health care occupations—including lab technicians, emergency medical workers, and health information managers—that require significant training and education. By establishing education, practice, and retention grant programs, Cantwell's Allied Health Reinvestment Act would provide new incentives for individuals to complete allied health training. It would also authorize additional funds to improve the availability of quality training programs.

"Unfilled health care jobs in the allied health professions have a serious effect on hospitals in our state and real consequences when it comes to fast and effective patient care," said Cantwell. "We need to reverse chronic shortages in this key field, boost declining enrollment in allied health training programs, and get more health care professionals to underserved areas. Every time I meet with hospital officials in our state, I hear just how important it is for us to prepare more people to fill these high-quality jobs."

Cantwell previously introduced her Allied Health Reinvestment Act in 2005, but the legislation was still under consideration in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) at the close of the 109th Congress. Reintroduced Thursday during the 110th Congress, the bill is cosponsored by HELP committee chairman Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

The United States currently faces ongoing, severe workforce shortages among the allied health disciplines. In 2004 for example, the Washington State Hospital Association reported vacancy rates of 14.3 percent among ultrasound technologists, 11.3 percent among radiology technicians, and 10.9 percent among nuclear medicine technologists. Allied health professions, which make up approximately one third of the American health care workforce, also include dental hygiene, dietetics and nutrition, emergency medical services, health information management, clinical laboratory sciences and medical technology, cytotechnology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, radiologic technology, nuclear medical technology, rehabilitation counseling, respiratory therapy, and speech-language pathology and audiology.

The Allied Health Reinvestment Act would offer allied health education, practice, and retention grants:

  • Education grants would expand enrollment in allied health education programs, and would leverage new methods and technologies to expand education opportunities, including through distance-learning.
  • Practice grants would establish and expand allied health practice arrangements in non-institutional settings, improving access to health care in rural and other medically underserved communities.
  • Retention grants would promote career advancement for allied health personnel.

In a 2006 survey of 87 member institutions, the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professionals (ASAHP) reported that enrollment in several allied health programs fell short of capacity for the seventh straight year. The annual ASAHP survey shows under-enrollment by 55 percent in dietetics, 54 percent in health administration, 49 percent in rehabilitation counseling, 43 percent in health information management, 38 percent in speech language pathology and audiology, 33 percent in emergency medical sciences, 26 percent in nuclear medicine technology, 25 percent in clinical laboratory sciences and medical technology, and 20 percent in cytotechnology. Cytotechnologists—technicians who examine and identify cellular abnormalities—are critical in making accurate diagnoses of cancer and other diseases. According to ASAHP, due in part to this shortage, women in some parts of the country will not learn the results of Pap Tests until as long as 12 weeks after they are administered, and routine mammograms may take as long as 10 months to schedule.

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