THE CONVERGENCE AT NICC 2016 AIMS TO BUILD A SKILLED IE HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE
Upland, CA (June 9, 2016) – The Convergence is a collaboration of Inland Empire hospital CEOs, university administrators and city leaders with a goal of generating 16,000 health care jobs in the region by 2017. The group is convening a special track at “WE’RE ALL CONNECTED,” the 7th Annual National Innovative Communities Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday June 21st and 22nd at Ontario Convention Center 2000 E. Convention Center Way, Ontario, CA 91764. NICC 2016 is produced by REACH OUT and Partners for Innovative Communities and is free and open to the public.
The Convergence panel is moderated by Diana Fox, REACH OUT Executive Director, and will take place on Tuesday June 21st at 10:15-11:30am. Panelists include Emma Simmons Associate Dean of Student Affairs at UCR School of Medicine; Bruce Coleman, City of Murrieta Director of Economic Development; Alison Elsner, Executive Director of San Bernardino County Medical Society; Michael Osur, Deputy Director at Riverside University Health Systems; Mariann Ruffolo Manager of Workforce Training at County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health; Greg Christian, Executive Director at Kaiser Permanente.
“For several years, we only had one pediatric endocrinologist for the entire Inland Empire,” says Diana Fox of REACH OUT. “A child suffering epileptic seizures would have to wait six months for an appointment. Now it's not quite as bad but those types of things in the specialty field really drive the shortages." One reason for the lack of qualified health professionals is education. According to John Husing, the chief economist for the Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP), only 20 percent of the region's adults hold at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 30 percent in Los Angeles and 40 percent in the Bay Area. The IE is in need of nursing assistants, doctors and surgeons, also falling below the national average for registered nurses. The Convergence hopes to change this.
NICC is a must gathering for those seeking new ideas and best practices to get local stakeholders interested in making their community a better place. NICC is sponsored by REACH OUT whose mission is to strengthen communities by bringing people together to solve our region’s toughest issues: breaking barriers to educational achievement, expanding economic opportunities, and creating safe, healthy and innovative communities. For information on REACH OUT programs, go to: we-reachout.org. For info on PIC or to register for #NICC2016, go to www.pic-nicc.org. You may also contact Julie Duarte, PIC Program Coordinator at Julie@we-reachout.org or Omar Gonzalez, Director of Environmental Prevention and Public Policy at Omar@we-reachout.org.
For more info on the Inland Empire economy, go to: Road to Recovery