U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) recently unveiled a bipartisan bill to address health disparities in America’s underserved communities by bolstering the community healthcare workforce.
“With the current labor shortages facing our communities, we must continue to invest in the future of our healthcare workforce,” Sen. Tillis said. “Our communities need more support, proper resources and access to necessary health care.”
Sen. Tillis joined U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) as original cosponsors of the Building a Sustainable Workforce for Healthy Communities Act, S. 3479, sponsored on Jan. 11 by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) to amend the Public Health Service Act regarding awards to support community health workers and community health, according to the text of the bill.
Sen. Tillis said in a Jan. 18 statement that he was proud to introduce common sense legislation that would ensure “we are recruiting, training and retaining qualified frontline healthcare professionals.”
If enacted, S. 3479 would reauthorize a competitive grant program to support state and local governments, tribal organizations and community-based organizations in expanding community health worker programs, according to a one-page bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Grant funding would be used to recruit and train community health workers and to support outreach in underserved communities and for those needing extra assistance during a public health emergency, the summary says.
“Community health workers serve an important role, particularly in areas with shortages of health providers. They are patient advocates — providing care, education, resources, follow-up, and so much more,” said Sen. Murkowski. “As we continue to grapple with COVID-19 and healthcare provider shortages, this grant program would help communities ensure community health worker services are able to continue and expand.”
The bill has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.