Begley: Health Care Workers Are Part of America’s Infrastructure

Any threat to the stability of the health care workforce is a threat to the nation’s infrastructure, wrote Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, AONL CEO and senior vice president and chief nursing officer of the American Hospital Association (AHA), in an op-ed published in Healthcare Dive this week. “Hospitals are one of the truly essential facilities needed for the operation of a society, and a core component in our nation’s infrastructure — something that has been proven time and again throughout this pandemic,” Begley wrote. “To that end, a qualified, engaged and diverse workforce is at the heart of that health care system. This means that any threat to the stability of our health care workforce is a threat to our infrastructure — and should be central to any major infrastructure legislation.” She noted AHA’s support of the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, which would expedite the visa authorization process for nurses, creating support for hospitals facing staff shortages. (Healthcare Dive op-ed, 6/30/21)