Sen. Ossoff Pushing to Expand Health Care Workforce to Help Georgia Clinics and Hospitals with Workforce Shortages

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is working to secure additional funding in the budget reconciliation bill to expand the National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps to address the shortage of health care workers in Georgia and nationwide.

Long before the pandemic, Georgia has faced a severe health care workforce shortage. According to
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is an external link
, 64 of Georgia's 159 counties have no pediatrician; 79 have no OBGYN; and nine do not have any doctors at all.

"COVID-19 has left hospitals and clinics understaffed and medical teams overworked," Sen. Ossoff said. "The pandemic has further exposed that America has a critical shortage of health care workers. That's why I'm working expand the health care workforce in Georgia, so clinics and hospitals across our state are properly staffed to provide the care Georgians need when they need it, no matter where they live."

The ongoing shortage of health care workers in Georgia and across the country has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example:

Nearly 30%This is an external link
of health care workers have considered leaving the profession due to burnout.
An average of 62%This is an external link
of health care workers say stress related to the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health.
Georgia currently has one of the lowest nurse-to-population ratiosThis is an external link
in the country, with only 10 nurses to every 1,000 people.
Sen. Ossoff has long been a leader in supporting Georgia's hospitals.

Earlier this month, he and Sen. Rev. Warnock secured more than $22 million in funding for infrastructure investments at community health centers across the state of Georgia, coming on top of $143 million they secured for community health centers this spring through the American Rescue Plan.

Sen. Ossoff also recently secured vital funding for hospitals in Georgia and nationwide after urging the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra to swiftly allocate COVID-19 relief funding for rural clinics and safety net hospitals.

Last month, Sen. Ossoff urged President Biden and several government agencies to expedite implementation of the President's new COVID-19 action plan to support COVID-burdened hospitals, which would double the number of Department of Defense clinical teams available to deploy to states across the country.

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