On Thursday, January 28, the Center for the Health Professions at UCSF announced that it was changing its name to Healthforce Center at UCSF (Center). The group believes its name change better reflects the center’s mission to equip health care organizations with the workforce knowledge and leadership skills needed to effect positive change. Founded in 1992, Healthforce Center works with foundations, hospitals, delivery systems and organizations on leadership programs and workforce research. The Center also develops customized consulting services for organizations with unique needs and objectives.
Two faculty members associated with the School of Nursing—Susan Chapman, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN and Ulrike Muench, PhD, MSN, RN—along with former faculty member and continuing collaborator Joanne Spetz, PhD are part of the Center’s research faculty. Chapman, who is co-director of the School of Nursing masters and doctoral programs in Health Policy, conducts research on the health workforce, health policy analysis, and program evaluation. At the center, she currently focuses on transforming models of primary care to address new and expanded roles for the health and long-term care workforce. Muench is a health services researcher with a focus on the health care workforce. Specifically, her research interests include applied health care economics, roles of nurses and nurse practitioners, gender inequality in the workplace, program evaluation, and patient outcomes. Spetz is associate director of research at the Center, with a research focus on health economics, quantitative research methods, health care financial management, and health economics.
To coincide with its new name, the Center unveiled a completely redesigned website and refreshed brand identity that highlights its large portfolio of leadership development programs and research projects. In addition, the Center is hosting a speaker series about navigating change in the health workforce. Learn more.
In the Center’s press release, Director Sunita Mutha, MD, noted, “If we want to live longer, healthier lives, we must understand and effectively train health professionals. At Healthforce Center, we combine a deep understanding of the issues facing the health workforce with the leadership skills to drive progress, resulting in real-world impact for patients and clinicians across the country.”
“You can make grand designs on how to reduce costs, improve quality, enhance efficiency, improve access,” said Spetz. “But if you don’t understand the workforce issues in health care, and have the leadership ability to execute change, grand designs rarely lead to grand results.”