Like most healthcare providers in rural Oregon, the shortages are impacting the Virginia Garcia Health Center, which has seen a 400 percent growth in patients the past decade, mostly migrant and seasonal farm workers at its clinics in Washington and Yamhill counties.
Job interviewees often say they “love the mission and the team-based care but ‘I’ve got these loans and you’re asking me to work for $40,000 less than market,’” CEO Gil Munoz told the Oregon Health Policy Board last week.
With a team of 550 workers, Virginia Garcia staff have benefited from 16 state and federal incentive programs such as loan repayment and tax credits. “Growing our own” as a teaching health center has also helped, Munoz said.
Some $30 million in state funding plus federal dollars help recruit and retain healthcare workers especially in rural Oregon, but applicants far outnumber the incentives available, said Dr. Robyn Dreibelbis, a professor of family medicine in Lebanon.
Several recommended incentives could help fill the gap:
- Allow applicants to “bid” additional years of obligated service, the time period someone agrees to provide care in an underserved or sparsely populated area, in exchange for loan forgiveness or giving a healthcare provider from another country a J-1 visa to practice in the U.S. if they go to a rural or other underserved area. Typically such contracts require a one to three year commitment.
- Offer larger awards to participants who are willing to extend their contract. Currently 2,500 providers participate in Oregon 36 counties.
- Include a moving expense stipend or cash bonus
By the end of July, the Oregon Health Authority will submit its proposed budget for 2017-19 to legislators and intends to publish quarterly reports looking at the “metrics plus finances” for the CCOs.
Jan can be reached at [email protected].
