U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Establishes National Clearinghouse for Health Workforce Information

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With health care job vacancies reaching crisis levels – including critical shortages of physicians, nurses, and allied health personnel across the country – solutions to address the vacancies can come none too soon.

The new Health Workforce Information Center (HWIC), www.healthworkforceinfo.org, provides information on health workforce solutions in one centralized and easy-to-access online location. Resources available through HWIC’s Web site will help health providers, educators, researchers and policymakers around the nation develop strategies to meet future workforce demands. 

Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration and operated by the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the center will offer the latest on health workforce programs and funding sources; workforce data, research and policy; educational opportunities and models; and news and events, also available through e-mail updates.

Visitors will have a broad range of publications and other resources at their fingertips. The site also offers free, customized assistance from information specialists (digital librarians), who will search databases on workforce topics and funding resources, furnish relevant publications, and connect users to workforce experts and federal programs, among others.

“Many people in government and private and nonprofit organizations need access to the type of quickly assembled, user-friendly data the center will make available,” said Kristine Sande, HWIC deputy director at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “Accurate information on the health workforce will be vitally important in the ongoing health care debate, and we provide a way for individuals to get it from a single, trusted source.”

 “We are delighted to join with the University of North Dakota to create the Health Care Workforce Information Center, a one-stop-shop for people seeking information about health workforce in America,” said Dr. Elizabeth Duke, HRSA Administrator. “HWIC can provide valuable information to health leaders across the country, ultimately increasing staffing, educational programs, and retention of health workers.”

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Contact:Wendy Opsahl, Communications Coordinator, Health Workforce Information Center, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 701-777-0871, editor@medicine.nodak.edu

Tara Balsley, Office of Communications, Health Resources and Services Administration,
Department of Health and Human Services, 301-443-4325, tara.balsley@hrsa.hhs.gov