Recruiting, retaining, and advancing careers for employees from underrepresented groups

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Workforce Development
• Health Equity
• Acute Care Services

Background:

• There is a recognized need to increase workforce diversity in acute care settings.
• Underrepresentation of specific demographic groups in healthcare impacts patient care and access.
• Targeted interventions are necessary to address systemic barriers to employment in healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a multidimensional workforce development project aimed at increasing representation from underrepresented groups in acute care.
• To evaluate the outcomes of this project in two upstate New York hospitals.
• To assess the project's effectiveness in recruiting and retaining employees from federally defined poverty levels.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a multidimensional workforce development program.
• Targeting of existing and new employees meeting specific socioeconomic criteria (federally defined poverty levels).
• Data collection on project outcomes and employee representation.

Main Results:

• The workforce development project successfully surpassed original expectations.
• Increased number of persons from underrepresented groups employed in acute care settings.
• Positive impact on hospital workforce diversity metrics.

Conclusions:

• Multidimensional workforce development projects can effectively enhance diversity in acute care.
• Targeting socioeconomic factors is a viable strategy for increasing representation from underrepresented groups.
• The project demonstrated a successful model for improving healthcare workforce equity.