Wisconsin’s UW Health Launches Nonprofit to Bolster Healthcare Workforce

UW Health in Wisconsin has launched WorkForward, a new nonprofit organization designed to bolster the national healthcare workforce.

The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis predicts shortages across the healthcare workforce by the year 2038, including 141,160 physicians, 108,960 registered nurses, 60,610 physical therapists, 30,400 pharmacists and 12,770 respiratory therapists.

Workforce shortages and high turnover have been persistent challenges for healthcare systems as they attempt to meet the growing national demand for care. WorkForward will guide and support efforts to build and scale innovative approaches to healthcare workforce development, drawing upon the success already achieved in the Madison area.

UW Health says that WorkForward is the first employer-based intermediary in healthcare, aligning employers, educators, governing bodies and other organizations around shared workforce development goals and outcomes.

This is about addressing bottlenecks in accessing and scaling healthcare education and training programs, according to Bridgett Willey, executive director and chief operating officer of WorkForward. “People want to work in health care, or grow in their healthcare careers, and health systems want to hire and support talented people; they just need the right coordination and infrastructure,” she said in a statement. “That’s what WorkForward is designed to provide.”

WorkForward will consult and partner with a variety of organizations, including healthcare employers, K-12 and post-secondary educators, federal and state apprenticeship agencies and other intermediaries to provide tailored strategies and support for healthcare workforce development, to launch or expand apprenticeships, establish youth career pathways and experiential learning, all customized to federal, state and local regulations, partners and priorities.

The effort will also build a network of organizations and individuals, creating opportunities for industry collaboration and shared learning. This work will help the industry build upon proven approaches and better understand the conditions that drive program success.

WorkForward will also bring day‑to‑day operational insights from health systems into state and federal policy conversations to help align funding and regulations with real needs.