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The healthcare industry initiative was the first industry that the board targeted and
serves as a template for future industry sector initiatives. In the first step, the board brought together
more than two dozen key stakeholder institutions in 2003 to form a steering committee to guide the healthcare
workforce summit process. The steering committee included the following participants: healthcare industry
employers, state licensing boards, educational representatives, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S.
Department of Defense and allied state agencies. In addition, the steering committee compiled the Governor's
Healthcare Workforce Summit monograph, which consisted of agreed-upon information regarding the industry's
current and future workforce shortages and included best practices from across the nation.
In the second step, the GWIB facilitated an invitational Governor's Healthcare Workforce Summit on
August 28, 2003, to address the critical issue of significantly increasing the number of skilled
healthcare workers in Maryland. The summit brought together approximately 160 invitees representing
more than 650 employers, as well as representatives from state licensing boards, state educational
systems and relevant state agencies. As a result of the summit, participants were assigned concrete
deliverables to advance real change in increasing employment in the healthcare industry. In the third
step of the workforce development process, GWIB followed up with the summit participants to aid them
in the achievement of their stated objectives. The Healthcare Sustaining Committee is now meeting on a
quarterly basis and will be meeting to discuss their next steps. The following are some of the
achievements thus far:
- The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL) recognized this
approach and awarded the GWIB $1 million to establish the Center for Industry Initiatives to
duplicate the healthcare industry initiative in other industries, as well as continue the work of
the healthcare industry initiative.
- Maryland received $1.5 in federal funding to increase nursing program faculty in the state's
nursing programs thereby increasing the state's capacity to train nurses.
- The Maryland Higher Education Commission and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
released "Maryland's Top Demand Healthcare Occupations - Projected Demand and Reported Supply." The
report outlines the top 25 healthcare occupations, what credentials are required for those
occupations and where those credentials can be obtained. This report forms the baseline data for
measuring the Healthcare Workforce Initiative's progress.
Chair
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Neil M. Meltzer, President and Chief Operating Officer, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Mr. Meltzer has total responsibility for Sinai Hospital of
Baltimore, a 569 million-dollar, 471-bed community teaching
hospital. He is also the Senior Vice President of LifeBridge
Health. LifeBridge Health is the holding company for Sinai
Hospital, Northwest Hospital Center, Levindale Hebrew
Geriatric Hospital, Sinai Rehabilitation, LifeBridge Health
and Fitness, SurgiCenter of Baltimore, Maryland Kidney Stone
Center as well as a number of other smaller subsidiaries.
Mr. Meltzer received a Bachelor of Science degree in Public
Health from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst in 1978
and a Master of Public Health and Health Administration from
Tulane University in 1981. Following his administrative
residency at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Mr. Meltzer was
employed as Assistant Director of the Boston University
Medical Center and Health Policy Institute, and Vice
President of Operations at both Nashoba and Emerson
Hospitals. Mr. Meltzer joined the staff of Sinai Hospital in
1988.
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Mr. Meltzer received an American Public Health Fellowship in 1979 and
1980. His professional activities and
associations include membership in the American College of
Health Care Executives, the Maryland Health Care Executives,
the American Hospital Association, the Board of Directors of
the American Heart Association-Baltimore Chapter, the Board
of Directors of the American Heart Association-MidAtlantic
Region, the National Board of Directors of the American
Heart Association, Chairman of the Advocacy Committee of the
National Board of Directors of the American Heart
Association, the Baltimore City Workforce Investment Board
and the Board of Ruxton Country School. Mr. Meltzer was
recently appointed to chair the Governor's Workforce
Investment Board Health Care Committee effective September 2008. |
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Industry Leader
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William G. (“Bill”) Robertson is the
President and CEO of Adventist HealthCare, Inc., in
Rockville, MD, Montgomery County’s largest employer.
Previously he was Chief Executive Officer for the Shawnee
Mission Medical Center in Shawnee Mission Kansas. He also
has served in several leadership positions for healthcare
systems in Texas and Florida. He has a BS in Accounting from
Southern Adventist University, and an M.B.A. from Texas
Christian University and is a licensed C.P.A. in both
California and Maryland. He is Chairman of the Board of the
Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.
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Preparing
Maryland's Workforce for Reform: Healthcare 2020 report
(PDF document, 6MB, download
Adobe Acrobat for free)
Health Care Summit brings
together stakeholders from across Maryland for the unveiling of the Preparing Maryland's Workforce for
Health Reform: Health Care 2020
Military Personnel and Spouses
Relocating to Maryland - PROVET
Sector Information
Industry Initiative Coordinator - Mary O'Connor
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