The challenges of working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a toll on health-care workers, causing them to leave the profession in droves. Nearly one in five health-care workers left their jobs during the pandemic, leaving our health care infrastructure vulnerable as demand outpaces supply. The ongoing provider shortage will widen gaps in access, delay time to care, and increase costs, worsening outcomes and disparities, and hampering responses to public health crises. The economic burden is heavy: annual burnout turnover costs total $9 billion for nurses and up to $6.3 billion for physicians. This crisis touches every health-care worker—direct carers in homes, first responders, mental health providers, and primary and specialty practitioners—especially for the aging population and underserved communities. It’s time to start taking better care of our health-care workforce. What cultural, structural, and systemic changes are needed to support a healthy health-care workforce? How can stakeholders across sectors help prevent burnout and lessen the costs of a fragmented health-care system? 

Moderator

Richard Lui

Journalist, News Anchor, NBC News

Speakers

Jesse Ehrenfeld

President, American Medical Association

Robert Espinoza

Executive Vice President of Policy, Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute

Kevin Lynch

CEO, President, and Founder, The Quell Foundation

Megan Ranney

Dean, Yale School of Public Health