Researchers, Practitioners, Community Members, and Policymakers Gather for NCIOM’s Annual Meeting on the Workforce for Health

Blog | November 28, 2022

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NCIOM President & CEO Kathy Colville and Board Chair Carrie Rosario addressing the crowd at the 2022 NCIOM Annual Meeting
NCIOM President & CEO Kathy Colville, Board Chair Carrie Rosario address 2022 NCIOM Annual Meeting

Researchers, Practitioners, Community Members, and Policymakers Gather for NCIOM’s Annual Meeting on the Workforce for Health

More than 200 North Carolinians convened at NC State University’s McKimmon Center in Raleigh on November 15 to network, reflect, and work toward health policy solutions in our state.

This year’s NCIOM annual meeting focused on the challenges of recruitment, retention, and support for North Carolina’s workforce for health.

Keynote speaker Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, a national leader in nursing, health equity, and leadership development, kicked off the day with a talk about preparing the health workforce for the future, with a special focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nursing workforce.

Sharing new data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Hassmiller explained that the total RN supply in the United States dropped in 2021 by nearly 200,000 more than what had been forecast. Many who left the nursing workforce were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, and while some have returned, those who worked in hospitals are not rejoining those ranks.

Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN addressing 2022 NCIOM Annual Meeting
Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN

“Health worker well-being must come from multiple levels and be an organizational value,” she said, noting that some frontline workers now describe feeling “resilience rage” and frustration with individual-focused wellness initiatives.

“We need to bring joy back into the workforce,” Hassmiller said, “and I believe we can.”

Erin P. Fraher, PhD, MPP, program director of the Carolina Health Workforce Research Center at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, then led a plenary panel about strategies for change.

The panel focused on equity and the importance of community health workers. Participants included Cherry Maynor Beasley, PhD, MS, FNP, RN, CNE, FAAN, associate dean and the chief nursing officer for the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing at UNC-Pembroke; Honey Yang Estrada, MPH, CHW, president of the North Carolina Community Health Worker Association; John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH, FAAN, president of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and vice president of Drivers of Health Strategy for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina; Mark F. Dunn, CPC, MSL, chief diversity, inclusion, and talent management officer at ECU Health; and Walker Wilson, MPH, assistant secretary for policy at the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

After the plenary panel, attendees dispersed to breakout sessions on:

  • Building a supported and community-oriented primary care workforce (moderated by Adam Zolotor, MD, DrPH, professor of Family Medicine at UNC and associate director for Medical Education at NC AHEC);
  • Sustaining the care workforce for older adults (moderated by Carolyn Bird, PhD, AFC, RFC, faculty affairs fellow in the Office of the Provost at NC State University);
  • Closing the mental health care access gap (moderated by Brianna Lombardi, PhD, MSW, deputy director of the UNC Sheps Carolina Health Workforce Research Center);
  • Innovative strategies and potential policy levers for birth equity (moderated by Velma Taormina, MD, associate medical director consultant for NC Medicaid and president of the NC OBGYN Society);
  • And opportunities in oral health workforce, payment reform, and innovations (moderated by Zachary Brian, DMD, MHA, vice president of impact, strategy, and programs at FHLI and director of the NC Oral Health Collaborative).
L-R: Hugh Tilson, Rep Gale Adcock, Sen Jim Burgin
L-R: Hugh Tilson, Rep Gale Adcock, Sen Jim Burgin
L-R: Rep Carla Cunningham, Rep Wayne Sasser, Rep Donna White, Sen Mike Woodard
L-R: Rep Carla Cunningham, Rep Wayne Sasser, Rep Donna White, Sen Mike Woodard
L-R: Erin Fraher, John Lumpkin, Walker Wilson, Mark Dunn
L-R: Erin Fraher, John Lumpkin, Walker Wilson, Mark Dunn
L-R: Cherry Beasley, Honey Yang Estrada
L-R: Cherry Beasley, Honey Yang Estrada

During lunch, sponsored by the North Carolina Nurses Association, the NCIOM launched a year of celebrating its 40th anniversary, with a video looking back on our history, acknowledging our evolution, and looking forward to the future.

Afternoon breakout sessions included:

  • The future of the local public health workforce, moderated by Omari Richins, MPH, health improvement program officer at the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust;
  • Creating a more diverse and equitable workforce, moderated by Khristian Curry, MPH, project director at the NCIOM;
  • The new Center on the Workforce for Health, moderated by Michelle Ries, MPH, associate director at the NCIOM;
  • Navigating individual, team, and organizational strategies, presented by Sarah Arnett, MA, and Sarah Lackey, DNP, RN, CMC of Cone Health;
  • And a conversation about challenges for acute care, led by Mark Gordon, MHSA, president of Alamance Regional Medical Center and senior vice president of Cone Health.

The event concluded with a lively legislative roundtable, moderated by Hugh Tilson, JD, MPH, director of NC AHEC, including Representative Gale Adcock (D – 41), Senator Jim Burgin (R – 12), Representative Carla Cunningham (D – 106), Representative Wayne Sasser (R – 67), Representative Donna White (R – 26), and Senator Mike Woodard (D – 22).

“When you come to my office, what I want to hear is how what you’re doing is going to impact the patient,” said Rep. Sasser.

“Patients need time to digest information…that’s exactly how you should approach us,” Rep. Adcock said.

In closing, Rep. Sasser shared this message: “I hope what we learned from COVID was that we need to treat our employees better.”

The Presenting Sponsor of the NCIOM’s 2022 annual meeting was the BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation. Our Partner Sponsor was the Winer Family Foundation. Our Gold Sponsor was the North Carolina Nurses Association. Silver Sponsors included the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Carolina Complete Health, the

North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association, and the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists. Friends of NCIOM sponsors included the North Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the North Carolina Public Health Association.