The Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), an advocacy agency representing 65 nonprofit clinics and health centers that serve low-income populations across the county, says a recent survey of their clinic membership showed that 55 percent of those clinics are struggling to recruit and retain physicians, medical assistants, nurses and other health care staff. It’s a workforce crisis that has resulted in increased wait times and decreased access to health services for the most under-resourced and underserved communities. That’s why L.A. Care Health Plan has awarded CCALAC a $200,000 grant to support its workforce development initiative.
The funding will allow CCALAC to facilitate four learning collaboratives over a two-year period to provide clinic assessments, targeted trainings, and coaching related to staff recruitment and retention at 20 health centers that serve L.A. Care members and other low-income populations. The trainings will include Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trainings. L.A. Care is committed to advancing health equity, and this project will help to ensure that more patients have access to clinics with healthcare workforce capacity and to have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
CCALAC is partnering with a human resources consulting firm to provide further expertise to lead the learning collaboratives. The support from L.A. Care is leveraging investments from other funders, including The California Endowment, to ensure the CCALAC initiative is fully resourced.