Rocky Mountain Collaborative to Transform the Health Professions Workforce
Through the engagement of representatives from Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, this initiative sought to build a truly regional approach to the goal of expanding diversity in the health professions, thereby also helping to ensure an supply of trained workers in these rapidly growing fields.
Project Overview
Our nation is in the midst of a dramatic demographic shift that is changing the face of our population so rapidly that the U.S. Census Bureau projects that the majority of people will be non-White. This escalating diversification is especially significant among younger age ranges, and that has important implications for our future workforce. When you consider that our rapidly aging population is also growing more diverse and that race/ethnicity also tend to be correlated with access to health care, the need to expand the pipeline to good jobs in the health professions for underrepresented minorities is clear.
WICHE, the Sullivan Alliance, and the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado Denver came together to host the Rocky Mountain Collaborative to Transform the Health Professions Workforce to address this increasingly important issue. This invitation-only meeting, which took place at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado April 20-21, 2009, brought together leaders from all three sectors of public higher education in a concentrated effort to build or broaden pathways leading from the community colleges – the most open access institutions – through a bachelor’s degree and on to a graduate or professional degree in the health sciences. Through the engagement of representatives from Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, this initiative sought to build a truly regional approach to the goal of expanding diversity in the health professions, thereby also helping to ensure an supply of trained workers in these rapidly growing fields.
We are grateful for the support from the Office of Minority Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help cover the costs of this event. Please follow the following links to learn more about the meeting and its co-sponsors.
- Sullivan Alliance link: http://www.jointcenter.org/index.php/publications_recent_publications/focus_magazine/2005/september_october_2005/the_sullivan_alliance_partners_with_the_joint_center_to_increase_diversity_in_the_health_professions
- Anschutz Campus link: http://www.uchsc.edu
- Office of Minority Health link: http://www.omhrc.gov/
Conference Agenda
Rocky Mountain State Collaborative
Monday, April 20, 2009
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Registration and Reception
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:00 pm – 7:15 pm
Welcome and Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Chancellor M. Roy Wilson
7:15 pm – 8:00 pm
Keynote Presentation
Dr. Louis Sullivan
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
7:00 am to 8:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00 am to 8:15 am
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Robin Carle, Sullivan Alliance and Dr. Jay Gershen, UC Denver
8:15 am – 8:30 am
Summit Overview and Logistics
David Longanecker, WICHE
8:30 am – 9:30 am
Keynote Address
Estela Bensimon: Breaking Down the Barriers
9:30 am to 9:45 am
Break
9:45 am to 10:30 am
The Virginia-Nebraska Alliance Panel Presentation
Terone Green, Sullvan Alliance, Dr. Rubens Pamies, University of Nebraska Medical Center and Ilana Mittman, The Sullivan Alliance.
10:30 am to 11:45 am
Morning Breakout Discussions
- Support services
- Leadership and sustainability
- Articulated curriculum (across institutions)
- Internal curriculum (within institutions)
11:45 am to 12:30 pm
State Team Debrief and Planning
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Lunch
Keynote Address
David Longanecker, WICHE
1:30 pm to 1:45 pm
Break
1:45 pm to 3:30 pm
Afternoon Breakout Discussions
Health Science Center Clusters: Exploring the Possibilities
3:30 pm to 3:45 pm
Break
3:45 pm to 4:45 pm
State Team Planning
4:45 pm to 5:30 pm
Next Steps, Evaluation and Adjournment
Evening
Informal networking; dinner on own
Resources
Articles
Presentations
