In 2012, former Gov. Dennis Daugaard appointed a Primary Care Task Force to address the challenge of workforce in South Dakota. Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s Primary Care Task Force Report notes that between 2010 and 2020, more than 8,000 additional health care workers will be needed in South Dakota.
Shifting demographics make that goal an even tougher reach, as the number of high school graduates is in the state is expected to decrease by 17 percent between 2002 and 2018 while the elderly population is forecast to double by 2025, according to the report.
Recruiting health care workers to rural and underserved communities presents an even greater challenge.
Health eCareers surveyed 565 health care employers and recruiters and identified providers’ four most difficult hiring needs:
