By Prairie State Wire Report |
Aug 29, 2023
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a roundtable discussion with leaders from Southern Illinois Healthcare, Shawnee Health, the nursing program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and the Egyptian Health Department to discuss his “Roadmap to Grow Illinois’ Rural Health Workforce”. This partnership organized by Durbin with hospitals, community health centers, medical and nursing schools, community colleges, dentists, physicians, and nurses will coordinate efforts and provide new funding to address health care workforce shortages and staffing crises in rural Illinois. The Roadmap focuses on: (1) pipelines to recruit middle/high-school students into health careers; (2) expanding capacity of clinical education programs; and (3) enhancing recruitment to rural areas.