PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The students at Palm Beach State College are two weeks into a two-year degree studying to be ultra sound technicians.
"It's a process that’s never done," Palm Beach State College Dean of Health Sciences Edward Willey said. "Our programs are very much in demand."
The 20+ techs will feed the tremendous and chronic need for health care workers in Palm Beach County.
"Healthcare has a critical shortage across the state, not just Palm Beach County,” CareerSource Palm Beach County President/CEO Julia Dattolo said.
It’s the reason CareerSource Palm Beach County pulled leaders from local hospitals and all levels of education into one room, trying to solve the medical worker shortage.
"The baby boomers have left the building," Dattolo said. "All those nurses, ancillary staff that have staffed hospitals aged out rapidly from the system and COVID-19 accelerated it.
"We need to develop that talent and we need to fill the talent pipeline for them," she said.
Hospital systems like HCA Healthcare do have a robust national recruitment program, but CEO Ashley Vertuno from JFK North Hospital said she's looking for specific groups.
“The seats are open, could we use more? Absolutely," Vertuno said. "But we have them rotate through our hospitals to be able to choose as a place to practice after they complete their schooling.”
WPTV anchor Shannon Cake sat down with Willey at Palm Beach State College.
Education
Students in Palm Beach County meet with industry leaders at showcase
"We could easily open a lecture hall and put 100 students in it, but it's really about the number of clinical seats we have since that’s a requirement of the program," Willey said. "It is hard to find clinically-credentialed, academically-credentialed faculty."
So for now, it's attracting students like Chloe White.
"What's fascinating to me is that I get to view into the body," she said.
White added that she plans to stay local.
"Our talent is in our local schools, let’s keep them here, keep our talent local," Dattolo said. "Find them employment immediately upon graduation."
Several industry leaders in South Florida said help has been needed at establishments since before the pandemic. WPTV covered the pressure that comes from rent prices and the housing crunch.
So, Palm Beach County set a meeting and pulled all the players into one room to trouble shoot and tackle the problem head-on.
The plan is to find those interested in healthcare fields when they’re young, feed them opportunities early and keep them local. This consortium pledged to work together during last week's meeting.
Meanwhile, WPTV took a look at the numbers. The Palm Beach County School District is exposing kids to various health care tracks at a young age and it’s proving to be effective.
The numbers from last week's meeting showed 7,700 students graduate from specialty health care programs every year in Palm Beach County.
However, WPTV found health care isn't the only area facing a shortage of workers. There are other industries in need of specialty staff in South Florida.
WPTV reporter Stephanie Susskind visited SouthTech Academy, which allows students to train service dogs and attended the "Claim Your Future Showcase," which connects high school students with employers looking to fill needed jobs.