RESTON, Va.—The Health Professions Network (HPN) conference was held March 4-6 in San Diego California. HPN convenes twice annually to discuss issues essential to the allied health community, which represents over 60 percent of the entire U.S. health care workforce. There are hundreds of professions in addition to nurses and physicians that deliver health care in the country.

Formed in 1995, HPN is made up of a group of volunteers representing health professional associations interested in interdisciplinary communication, discussion, and collaboration, and is a unification of professionals, represents diverse aspects of allied health, primarily including provider organizations, but also educators, accreditors and administrators. The group works together in an interactive and cooperative manner on issues relevant to health care and serves as a conduit for interdisciplinary problem solving and preparation for future health care delivery.

Keynote speaker for the conference was Bram Briggance, PhD, from the University of California at San Francisco Center for the Health Professions, who presented information about the shortage of health care workers. Others who addressed the group included Mary Anne Kelly, Vice President of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, describing a program in which the council partnered with the Chicago Tribune news organization to make junior high school students aware of health care careers. Debra Stock, Vice President, Member Relations of the American Hospital Association, reviewed the findings of the American Hospital Association’s study that focused on improving the quality of the health care workforce. Donna Yurdin of Hospital Corporation of America also described a very successful program that significantly decreased nurse turnover.

HPN conference attendees determined strategic initiatives for the network and actively participated in sessions to identify areas to which HPN should assign highest priority. The need for consistent and accurate data about allied health professions was identified as a top priority, since allied health is under-recognized by federal and state policy makers who determine the allocation of financial resources for the development of the allied health workforce. To address this issue, HPN has organized a data committee. Another identified top priority is to lobby for increased federal funding of allied health grants and initiatives. Other important areas were to develop more of a presence with federal agencies to assimilate best practice models addressing faculty shortages and to increase the number of organizations that actively participate in HPN.

As a forum for collaboration among allied health professions on issues of common interest, HPN identifies issues of common interest, communicates these issues to all participants, seeks consensus and facilitates responses, and advocates on behalf of allied health to the public, professional associations, and federal and state policy makers.

For more information, contact:

Health Professions Network
1850 Samuel Morse Drive
Reston, VA 20190-5316
703 708-9000
703 708-9015 Fax
information@healthpronet.org

HPN Outreach team: Theresa Shumard, sleepeditor@aol.com