On March 7, representatives from WiAHC and the Wisconsin Hospice and Palliative Care Association (WiHPCA) participated in a joint virtual meeting with Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez to discuss health care workforce issues.  Lt. Gov. Rodriguez, a registered nurse, chairs the newly formed Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce.  Various issues were discussed, including reimbursement from insurers and public sector payers, medical personnel wage levels, and the potential to expand an existing effort to concurrently train high school students to be licensed practical nurses (LPNs), which would enable them to graduate from high school and immediately enter the workforce. 

Future task force meetings will be held each month from April through August.  The following is the schedule that is currently available: 

• Thursday, April 4th, 1-4pm, Madison (Hill Farms State Office Building – Room TBD)
• Thursday, May 9th, 1-4pm, La Crosse (Location TBD)
• Thursday, June 6th, 1-4pm, Milwaukee (Location TBD)
• Thursday, July 11th, 1-4pm, Green Bay (Location TBD)
• Thursday, August 8th, 1-4pm, Madison (Hill Farms State Office Building – Room TBD)

In addition, the task force will launch a website in the future.  Once that occurs, that will be shared in a future edition of this newsletter.