AHA Urges Congress to Address Health Care Workforce Challenges
To inform lawmakers about the pandemic鈥檚 impact on the health care workforce, 兔子先生member Tawanda Austin, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer at Atlanta-based Emory University Hospital Midtown, testified during a of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee this week. After in heart-rending detail what she witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin called for 鈥渁 far more robust workforce to combat burnout and the overall shortage of providers.鈥 She urged Congress to fund pathways for more people to enter the medical and nursing fields, and asked committee members to investigate potential abuses by staffing agencies. A submitted to the committee in advance of the hearing laid out American Hospital Association (AHA) members鈥 concerns, offered policy solutions and called on Congress to increase funding for health care workforce development through Titles VII and VIII.