A Note From HRSA

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) is committed to ensuring eff ective, evidence-based planning and policymaking, and the nine HRSA-sponsored Health Workforce Research Centers (HWRCs) are vital to this goal. By conducting and disseminating rigorous research, the HWRCs strengthen health workforce policy and illuminate workforce issues and trends. In their research and technical assistance roles, the Centers serve as nationally recognized experts, and, through their eff orts across multiple workforce segments, they provide essential information and technical assistance to local, regional, state, and federal planners and policymakers.

In 2019 alone, the HWRCs produced more than 25 reports and journal articles based on their research and made more than 30 presentations at national conferences. Collectively, this work addressed a wide range of workforce topics, including allied health, behavioral health, health equity, long-term care, oral health, and emerging issues related to community health, evolving healthcare delivery modes, and valuebased healthcare. In addition, the Health Workforce Research Alert System was launched to quickly disseminate HWRC research to broad audiences.

This year, the HWRC directors came together to produce two commentaries published in the New England Journal of Medicine, one on modernizing health professions regulation to prioritize the needs of patients and the second on ensuring and sustaining a strong pandemic health workforce. Most recently, the HWRCs have been active during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing timely workforce information and resources to stakeholders at all levels.

BHW thanks the HWRCs for their eff orts and looks forward to their important contributions in the future.

Sincerely,

Torey Mack, MD Deputy Associate Administrator, Bureau of Health Workforce Health Resources and Services Administration US Department of Health and Human Services