Allied Health Care Workforce Program Report Assesses Los Angeles Region Health Minority Workforce

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Some of the fastest growing jobs in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas include dental assistants, registered dental hygienist, medical assistants, EMT/paramedics and physician assistants, according to the Allied Health Workforce Analysis – Los Angeles Region report released today by the Allied Health Care Workforce Program. The 84-page report also describes the significant workforce shortages of minorities in needed areas of health care.

Prepared by the University of California, San Francisco Center for the Health Professions, the report assesses the region’s future health care landscape and its “allied health workforce” – professionals who provide a range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic direct patient care services and support services.

“This report provides substantiated data that workforce planners, counselors and labor specialists within high schools, hospitals, workforce investment boards, health plans and other key partners can use as a tool for shaping the face of our future health care workforce,” said Susan Chapman, Ph.D., R.N., director, Allied Health Workforce Studies, Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco. “We have an opportunity to anticipate and properly address our future health outcomes and needs before they become challenges.”

In addition to serving as a resource in guiding the career paths of California’s communities, this report identifies a job sector that requires needed participation of racially and diverse communities. Such participation would build a culturally sensitive workforce – one that is better equipped to understand the needs of a growing and diverse population, and is then able to provide quality health care to them as well as improve their health outcomes.

Twenty allied health occupations were selected for a detailed analysis ranging from dental assistant to health interpreter. The report includes information on current wage levels and projected occupational employment that can be used to evaluate the relationships among wages, employment opportunities and demographics of the workforce and population in the region.

Key findings include:

• The most highly paid, highly trained health care professionals are the least racially and ethnically diverse.
• Many of the health work force occupations that are fast-growing and that are projected to offer significant employment opportunity are entry-level and low paying including health care support occupations such as home health aide, nursing aide, dental assistant and medical assistant.
• In 2005, the median age among Latinos was 26.5 years of age; by contrast the median age for Asians was 36.9 and for whites it was 42.6.
• By 2030, it is expected that nearly six out of every 10 residents of Los Angeles County will be Latino.

“We hope this data provides the necessary information to support the development of a culturally and linguistically competent health workforce in the Los Angeles region,” said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment. “The supply and composition of the health workforce are key ingredients in maintaining and improving the health status of individual patients from underserved and diverse communities.”

The release of the report’s findings was made in conjunction with the announcement of over $1.3 million in grants from the Los Angeles Workforce Funder Collaborative (LAWFC) to support community partners who are running allied health programs. The grants will serve to drive the LAWFC’s goal of creating the necessary pathways to ensure a skilled and financially stable workforce in the region.

To download the Allied Health Workforce Analysis – Los Angeles Region report, visit the Publications/Culturally Competent Health Systems/Work Force Diversity section of www.calendow.org. The Allied Health Workforce Analysis is part of a series of regional reports describing the basic components of the allied health workforce supported by The California Endowment.

The California Endowment

The California Endowment was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment makes grants to organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of the people of California. To date, The Endowment has awarded almost 10,000 grants across California totaling more than $1.8 billion. For more information, visit The Endowment’s Web site at www.calendow.org.