Quarterly Health Care Update - Jan 2021

Thank you everyone who signed up for the Northeast Region Health Care News. It was delayed a bit due to COVID-19, but the first update is here. If you have good news to share on healthcare in Northeast Minnesota, email me at shawn.herhusky@state.mn.us.

Duluth completes regional health care career pathways documents.

The Health Care Committee of the Duluth Workforce Development board has wrapped up final revisions of their Career Pathways documents and they look amazing. The data is localized for Northeast Minnesota, and do a great job of visually showing the opportunities in health care. You can use them to showcase opportunities in your own organization, just download them from this link. 

Duluth Workforce Development is actively recruiting individuals who are interested in starting the year training for a new career.

In partnership with SOAR Career Solutions, Lake Superior College and Duluth Public Schools Adult Education, Leading CareerForce partner Duluth Workforce Development is able to offer full funding for eligible applicants in three very in-demand skill sets. We are looking for health care employers’ help in getting the word out to people who may be interested. Please feel free to forward the attached flyers or share on your social media. The CNA course begins January 19^th.  You can find the flyer at this link. 

Health Care Clinical Staff Collaborative Summit.

In early October we held a summit to discuss employee sharing between similar facilities to help address our health care workforce shortage in Northeast Minnesota. We had a number of health care employers, government agencies, and advocacy groups attend. You can find a summary of the discussion and responses to the follow up survey at this link.

January is Health Care Month.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development along with local workforce development boards are highlighting the workforce needs of healthcare providers in January. Look for a series of blogs, virtual events, and more promoting the work of health care providers and highlighting the many amazing employment opportunities that exist in health care. Find out more at CareerForceMN.com/HealthCareMonth

NE MN Virtual SCRUBS camp.

Launching Spring 2021, the NE MN Virtual SCRUBS camp is a project led by Brenda Shafer-Pellinen of the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, Brady Malecha from Healthforce, and I. The project is similar to the virtual scrubs camp held last August, but customized to focus on the needs of Northeast Minnesota and also featuring employers from our region. We are looking for providers who have staff willing to meet with students virtually to discuss what it’s like working in health care in Northeast Minnesota. If your organization would like to participate, I recommend reaching out to Brenda Shafer-Pellinen at bshaferpellinen@ardc.org or you can email me at shawn.herhusky@state.mn.us

Community Paramedic / EMT Program.

The Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging would like to hear from communities who are interested in Community Paramedicine and Community EMT programs to talk further about a potential regional initiative. For more information and to discuss the possibility of a regional project, please reach out to Brenda Shafer-Pellinen at bshaferpellinen@ardc.org or you can email me at shawn.herhusky@state.mn.us

Hello Iron Range! Launches.

A new employee attraction and recruitment website has launched to help bring new talent into the region. Hello Iron Range! was created by Beth Pierce, Director, Iron Range Tourism Bureau with assistance from the Blandin Foundation and I. The site has information important to those considering a move to the area, for example information about major employers, housing, child care, major retailers and more. This site is perfect to share to those professionals you are trying to actively recruit, or internal candidates who might be interested in moving to the area. If you want to link the site to your recruitment page, a graphic is available with the logo you can use to link back to the site. You find the site at: https://www.helloironrange.com/

Carson’s Corner: Employment Projections: Health Care Occupations – December 2020

Employment Projections: Health Care Occupations

December 2020

Every two years, the Department of Employment and Economic Development produces industrial and occupational employment projections. The newest set of ten-year projections – for the 2018-2028 period – were recently released. These projections provide a view into a potential future in Health Care occupations in Northeast Minnesota.

The future continues to be bright for Health Care jobs in the region. Between 2018 and 2028, all but four of 51 Health Care occupations are projected to grow in Northeast Minnesota. Table 1 shows the Healthcare Practitioner & Technical and Healthcare Support occupations with the rosiest outlooks in the region. Among them, Physician Assistants, Phlebotomists and Home Health Aides top the list, each projected to grow nearly 20% over the next decade. Some of the most in-demand occupations are Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, Registered Nurses and Nursing Assistants. In addition to above average projected growth rates, hundreds of openings each year are anticipated for nursing occupations.

On average, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations are projected to expand by almost 6% and Healthcare Support Occupations are expected to grow nearly 11% into 2028. Combined, all Health care occupations are expected to grow about 7.7% from 2018-2028, equating to about 1,619 new jobs, and over 18,000 hires when turnover is factored in. This rate of growth is nearly five times that of all other occupations in Northeast Minnesota, indicating that high demand will continue for Health care jobs.

Carson Gorecki is DEED’s Labor Market Analyst for Northeast Minnesota. You can reach him at carson.gorecki@state.mn.us

Have good news you want to share? Email over a brief summary of what’s good to Shawn Herhusky at shawn.herhusky@state.mn.us