Building the Workforce to Support a Healthy North Carolina
The Center seeks to identify solutions, share best practices, and monitor progress in addressing these challenges.
We bring together health stakeholders from across NC to discuss and address the state’s ongoing health workforce shortages
The Center seeks to identify solutions, share best practices, and monitor progress in addressing these challenges. Unlike other organizations that focus on specific professions, geographies, or institutions, the Center provides a forum for a broad and inclusive approach to health workforce development.
Our Current Initiatives:
Health Talent Alliance
The Health Talent Alliance, a partnership between the Center and NC Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will define the demand for healthcare workers in specific regions of North Carolina and create programs to meet that demand. This includes support systems to help people complete training for healthcare careers and working with employers to improve employee retention.
Caregiving Workforce
The NC Department of Health & Human Services and Department of Commerce convened the Caregiving Workforce Strategic Leadership Council to organize the state government’s plan to address shortages in direct care, nursing, and behavioral health. The Center is supporting that ongoing work.
Inform
Provide access to data, information, reports, and tools.
Analyze
Generate insights from best available data and research.
Act
Collaborate to drive progress and inform large-scale change.
our story
Who We Are
North Carolina experienced health workforce shortages long before the COVID-19 pandemic and now faces dual challenges: addressing severe shortages today and preparing to serve a growing and aging population.
In 2021, NC Area Health Education Centers, NC Institute of Medicine, and the Sheps Center for Health Services Research developed a concept for a statewide center focused on the persistent, strategic development of our state’s health workforce.
The NC Center on the Workforce for Health is now working collaboratively across professions, settings, sectors, and regions to tackle today’s crises and prepare for the future. As the Center grows, it will further serve as a hub of reliable information and a catalyst for action.
Our Team
Meet the Director
Andy MacCracken
Andy MacCracken is the inaugural director of the NC Center on the Workforce for Health. In that role, he leads collaborative efforts to develop and deploy statewide strategies that tackle today’s severe health workforce shortages and prepare for the future. Andy joined the Center from the NC Pandemic Recovery Office, where he drove policy and research initiatives and managed $200 million in programs supporting the state’s education, workforce, and health needs. He previously cofounded and served as executive director of a national postsecondary education policy organization. Andy has an MPA and BA, both from American University in Washington, DC. He serves on the boards of directors of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and the KJS Legacy Project.
Get involved
Join Us
Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates or get information about our quarterly meetings.
Collaborate with the NC Center on the Workforce for Health: