Illinois lawmakers meet with Peoria leaders to address healthcare worker shortage

PEORIA (25News Now) - Amid a national shortage of healthcare workers, state lawmakers, educators, and healthcare and local leaders met to work toward a solution.

A gathering at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center focused on developing a pipeline to fill critical industry vacancies. Healthcare leaders stressed the importance of making students and residents aware of the support and connections offered.

Eighth District Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has played a role in bipartisan efforts to strengthen career technical education, also known as vocational education. These efforts have been so successful, that the demand has outgrown the available resources.

Krishnamoorthi said these efforts have been a great help, but there’s still much work to be done.

“We need students to be able to get from where they are, whether it’s at school or home, to the place where they can learn the skills at issue, and then into a job,” Krishnamoorthi said.

He noted the importance of “wraparound resources” which allow students to learn and earn at the same time.

OSF Healthcare CEO Bob Sehring said supporting the future workforce is pivotal to success.

“Our internal programs to try to help folks afford that is critically important,” Sehring said.

Sehring added that having a stronger healthcare workforce will not only ensure the safety of the community but could also serve as an avenue of prosperity for the city.

“Those same types of programs, to the extent that we can help, whether it is at a District 150 school, or a college or university, are all important to building that structure here within Peoria, so that we can look to a long-term future of growing for this community,” Sehring said.

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