A San Luis Obispo County program designed to attract and retain healthcare workers will get a significant financial boost from a national nonprofit.
On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors voted to accept a $900,000 grant from Health Career Connection to support the SLO Healthcare Workforce Partnership, a program founded in 2023 to address the county’s critical lack of healthcare services. With the funding, the partnership is projected to train more than 100 people through internships and a new nursing program at a Santa Maria college.
Michelle Shoresman, a division manager at the county Health Agency who oversees the partnership, said the programs backed by the grant are an important first step toward San Luis Obispo County being able to increase its healthcare workforce through its own residents. According to a provider study conducted by the county last year, across 15 positions of need in the physical health sector, health providers in the county must make an estimated total of more than 8,300 hires to keep pace with the healthcare sector’s turnover and expected growth by 2034.
The study found one of the biggest needs stem from a lack of nurses. Providers will need to make hires to replace more than 50% of all registered nurses, nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses and nurse practitioners by 2034.
