Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

What is the Nevada Health Care Sector Council?

The Nevada Health Care Sector Council was established in response to Nevada Senate Bill 239.  This legislation required industry sector councils to convene for the purpose of identifying job training and education programs to best meet regional economic development goals.  Working closely with the Nevada State Workforce Investment Board, it identifies and seeks federal funding to provide grants to fund job training and education programs.  The Council is charged with informing the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board of health care organizations that have the greatest likelihood of meeting regional workforce development and economic goals.

What is the mission of the Council?

The mission of the Council is to:

• Engage with health care industry leaders in seeking to define and address their workforce challenges and solutions;
• Identify the need for skilled workers in health care industries and assist the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board in aligning such skills with workforce demands;
• Promote collaboration among competitors and stakeholders in the health care marketplace;
• Encourage the private sector to take ownership and invest in solutions that address health care challenges;
• Formulate input that will help ensure the long-term competitiveness of health care regional sectors and their important contributions to Nevada’s economic vitality and health.

Who makes up the Council?

Council members are stakeholders representative of Nevada’s health care, labor, education, business and government sectors.

What is the purpose of this needs assessment?

Working in conjunction with the Nevada State Workforce Investment Board, the Council responded to a planning grant opportunity sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), specifically, HRSA -10-284/CFDA 93.509 (Affordable Care Act State Health Care Workforce Development Planning Grants).   The Council was successful and subsequently was awarded funds through the federal government to complete a needs assessment.  The main objective of this planning grant is to identify a strategy to increase the primary care health care workforce in Nevada by 10-25 percent over the next 10 years.  This needs assessment is the first step in identifying private and public primary care health education programs licensed to operate in the state of Nevada.  It will assist the Council to understand the number of students enrolling in and graduating from these programs, to identify perceived barriers educators experience with incoming students enrolling into their programs, identify perceived barriers in maintaining these students in their programs, and to successfully graduate these students and place them into the workforce in their field of study.  Data gathered will be analyzed and recommendations made as part of the subsequent implementation grant to increase our success rate of recruiting, maintaining, graduating and placing students in health care positions in the state of Nevada, thereby increasing our state’s health care workforce.

Why am I being asked to participate in this needs assessment?

This needs assessment survey is being sent to you because your program plays an important role in educating the next generation of Nevada’s health care workforce.  The information collected will be used to apply for state and federal grant dollars in the immediate future which may result in additional funding for your program(s).

Why am I receiving more than one request to complete this survey?

This survey is degree program specific, therefore, you have received multiple requests because your department has more than one degree within a program that has been identified, i.e., Nursing ADN, BSN, APN or Psychology AAS, BS, MS, PhD.  Please be certain that the data you provide is for each individual degree program per survey so that we collect accurate data.

When is the survey due?

Monday, April 18, 2011, 8:00 AM

What information is being collected?

Specific to education of students in these programs, we are asking for information on recent past and present enrollment rates, capacity issues, perceived barriers to success that chairs or program directors face with new students coming out of high school and entering the program, perceived barriers to success in the ability of your students to remain in the program and perceived barriers to success in graduates in obtaining jobs in their field upon completion of the program.

How will this needs assessment help my program and/or school?

This data collection process and analysis is a critical component in developing a specific and workable plan to increase Nevada’s primary health care workforce.  The data you provide will help the Nevada Health Care Sector Council to successfully develop and submit a subsequent HRSA implementation grant application which will be due sometime within the next several months.  This implementation grant would be an award for $3,000,000 over a two-year period.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

If you have questions regarding this specific needs assessment, please contact Dr. Maurizio Trevisan, Chair of the Nevada Health Care Sector Council (trevisan@nevada.edu or 702-522-7012) or Holly Balmer (hbalmer@nevada.edu or 702-522-7023). If you have technical questions about this web survey or need assistance completing the survey, please call the Center for Research Design and Analysis at 1-800-929-9079 Monday-Friday 9:00 am – 9:00 pm, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

If you have questions regarding the Nevada Health Care Sector Council,
please contact Linda Yi at 702-636-2344 or Debra Collins at 702-636-2315.