DELAWARE- The shortage of medical professionals in Delaware is receiving a boost as the Division of Public Health works to ramp up recruitment efforts.
Healthcare officials from local Delaware hospitals and DPH say there are several factors contributing to the shortage.
That's why DPH recently released a recruitment video touting the benefits of being a healthcare worker in the first state.
According to Nichole Moxley, DPH Primary Care Office Director, some fields need the help more than others.
"Delaware has been experiencing and will continue to experience a shortage of healthcare providers in the areas of primary care, dental health and mental health," said Moxley.
The shortage could potentially worsen, according to officials from Beebe Medical Group.
Chief Medical Officer at Beebe, Dr. Anthony Buonanno said Sussex County alone will need at least 250 providers over the next three years. "That's a steep slope to climb," he noted.
DPH points out the absence of a medical school in the first state.
"Most providers will come back to practice in the areas which they come from and Delaware doesn't have a medical school."
"We don't necessarily have the biggest pipeline of providers," said Moxley. Although, there are several residency programs in the state through ChristianaCare, Bayhealth and Beebe Medical Group. Beebe plans to open a family medicine residency this July.
Dr. Buonanno thinks the Delmarva geography, especially in Sussex County, may also be limiting the flow of potential candidates.
"We are a good hour and a half away or so to the closest airport and we are kind of a resort community," he said. "While that's great and we have an ocean around us that means we don't have a catchment area of 360 degrees."
Hospital catchment areas define the primary population of a hospital and are central to assessing the potential demand on that hospital.
"One of the things that we really have to also address in Delaware is that median income level housing and a place for [healthcare workers]," said Dr. Buonanno."People have to come here to live, and not everybody can afford to live in a very large house by the ocean."
Both DPH and Beebe Medical group expressed thoughts on how more affordable housing could help mitigate the staffing shortage.
