Priorities and Recommendations
• The merged system, working with partners, will identify opportunities for “collaborative competition”, e.g., how the system can partner with other parts of the overall healthcare system to target statewide quality improvement such as integration of healthcare information and other central administrative functions.
Priority 6: Workforce At the top of people’s minds in the community conversations were concerns over potential job losses related to the merger and how this might stress a workforce that is already struggling with high turnover. Given that, in the near term, there is a need for transparency from IAHS on potential job losses and the need to help mitigate these workforce-related impacts. As one of the largest employers in the state, the IAHS must commit to recruiting, retaining, and developing a strong, culturally and linguistically diverse workforce that meets the needs of its patients, while also playing a leadership role by helping catalyze broader workforce development supports for the next generation of Rhode Island’s healthcare workforce. Equity and cultural competence must be a focus within any discussion of workforce. Not just for the IAHS, but across the state’s health care system, there is a need to have a workforce that is representative of the communities it serves. Over the longer term, the IAHS and the state can work closely to help understand and identify workforce needs, decisions that must rely on robust data collection.
Recommendations for approval of the merged health system • The merged system will detail how it will make decisions around workforce impacts related to the merger. › They must detail the size and location of any job reductions, none of which should be in healthcare delivery areas. › They must also detail possible supports for employees who lose their jobs during the merger, including plans for retraining impacted employees. • The merged system will set up and support a senior team focused on the full breadth of workforce development activities within the system. › This team must report directly to executive leadership.
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