As North Carolina’s population continues to surge, so too does the need for a robust health care workforce. To meet industry demand, the NC Chamber Foundation is making significant strides in its NC Health Talent Alliance  public-private partnership with the NC Center on the Workforce for Health to develop a demand-driven workforce system tailored to meet the unique needs of North Carolina health care employers.  

The NC Health Talent Alliance recently released new data and analysis on health care workforce supply and demand in North Carolina. The findings, made publicly available in nine regional reports and one statewide report, quantify the depth and breadth of our talent challenges and identify clear pathways to address health care workforce gaps.   

In this month’s Foundation Forecast, NC Chamber Foundation Director of Workforce Competitiveness Vincent Ginski takes a closer look at this new data and outlines viable solutions to the supply-demand imbalance.  

Meredith Archie
President
NC Chamber Foundation 

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Addressing North Carolina’s Health Care Workforce Crisis

North Carolina’s health care system continues to confront substantial workforce shortages.  With health care needs surging and the workforce available to meet them shrinking, the state must take immediate action to avoid worsening consequences for communities and businesses alike. Employers across multiple health care settings have consistently identified Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), and Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs) as their most critical roles. These shortages threaten not only care delivery but also the long-term stability of the entire health care ecosystem.  

The Supply-Demand Imbalance  

Analysis performed by the NC Health Talent Alliance shows every year, North Carolina faces a gap of nearly 3,000 RNs and over 700 LPNs, with annual demand significantly outpacing educational output:  

• RNs: 7,090 annual demand vs. 4,241 annual output → 2,849 annual gap.  

• LPNs: 1,566 annual demand vs. 838 annual output → 728 annual gap.  

If these gaps remain unaddressed, the system will likely continue to experience limited service availability, increasing costs, longer wait times, and a continued strain on patient care and community health.  

Paths to Success  

The solution requires a two-pronged approach: increasing talent supply while reducing demand. Specific strategies include:  

• Maximizing education pipeline efficiency and throughput for RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and CMAs.  

• Improving job quality and employee retention to stabilize the workforce.  

• Re-engaging former health care workers who have exited the profession.  

• Recruiting talent from outside the state.  

Signs of Progress   

On the demand side, employer retention efforts are beginning to stabilize the workforce, reducing reliance on costly staffing agencies and mitigating turnover. On the supply side, the state is poised to benefit from historic funding awarded to health science programs across the state (most dominantly with the UNC System and the NC Community College System), but these gains will only be realized through focused, persistent data-driven interventions. While recent investments by the General Assembly aim to bolster training programs, it will take time for these funds to translate into measurable results. Even still, these public investments will only get the industry partially there. Employers and educators must continue working together to eliminate inefficiencies and prevent talent leakages.  

A Coordinated Approach   

Recognizing the urgency, the NC Center on the Workforce for Health, NC AHEC, and the NC Chamber Foundation have formed the NC Health Talent Alliance. This partnership brings together stakeholders to align efforts, share resources, and leverage data to close workforce gaps across the state. By focusing on critical roles and building consensus around solutions, the Alliance is creating a pathway to sustainably meet the state’s health care needs.  

The Way Forward   

Success will require deeper, more intentional collaboration and swift action. By prioritizing data-driven strategies and aligning state and regional efforts, stakeholders can stabilize the health care system and improve outcomes for patients, providers, and communities. The time to act is now. Learn more about the NC Health Talent Alliance and access regional workforce data to join the effort.