Work on this initiative was started by the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association (Academy/DPHA) and the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA) long before the COVID-19 pandemic changed our world and the landscape of healthcare. The pandemic directly and profoundly impacted healthcare systems and individual providers.

Before the pandemic, there were tectonic workforce and demographic challenges facing almost every major industry in our State and our nation: the aging of our population, the related increase in the incidence and burden of chronic disease, and the concurrent aging of the healthcare workforce. And the financial impact is clear: the healthcare industry is rapidly approaching one-fifth of the United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The contents of this report are based upon an unprecedented collaboration between multiple components of State government including the Delaware Healthcare Commission, the Division of Professional Regulation, the Delaware Institute for Medical Education and Research (DIMER), the Division of Primary Care and Rural Health, and the Departments of Finance and Labor. They are joined by the Academy/DPHA, DHSA, and the Delaware Health Information Network, and many other organizations playing essential smaller roles. This public-private partnership has gathered data on the healthcare workforce and analyzed the needs—both current and future—of the State of Delaware.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced stress and crisis. We now have an extraordinary, federally-funded opportunity to take meaningful action to address the opportunities in our healthcare sector for employment throughout the workforce, as well as novel models (including telehealth and nurse-led health clinics) leading the way.  This body of work and website are underwritten by the Delaware Health Care Commission, Delaware Department of Labor ARPA Funding, core support from the supporting trust of the Academy/DPHA, and from the partner organizations of the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance.

Research reported in this publication and website is supported by the Delaware Health Care Commission [DHCC-22-14] and State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds through the Department of Treasury and State of Delaware [SLFRP0139].