Michigan Healthcare Workforce Summit: Building What's Next
About this Event
Michigan's healthcare workforce is at a pivotal moment. While significant progress has been made to strengthen the talent pipeline, critical gaps remain that require bold thinking, cross-sector collaboration, and innovative solutions.
The Michigan Healthcare Workforce Summit: Building What's Next will bring together healthcare leaders, educators, employers, policymakers, workforce professionals, Tribes, and community partners to identify Michigan’s most pressing workforce challenges and develop practical strategies to address them.
Together, participants will explore the questions that will shape the future of healthcare in Michigan:
- How can we accelerate innovative workforce solutions for rural communities?
- How should healthcare organizations reimagine recruitment and retention in an era of artificial intelligence and rapidly evolving technology?
- What new skills will tomorrow's healthcare workforce need, and how do we prepare today's workforce to meet those demands?
- Which emerging occupations and new models of care should Michigan embrace to better serve patients and communities?
- What workforce priorities should the next Governor and Michigan's political leaders champion to ensure a strong, sustainable healthcare workforce for the future?
This will be more than a conference—it will be a working summit. Through keynote discussions, collaborative conversations, and solution-focused dialogue, participants will help identify actionable recommendations that can inform healthcare organizations, educators, policymakers, and leaders.
Join us as we move beyond identifying challenges to building the solutions Michigan's healthcare workforce needs for the future.
This event will be hosted by Michigan Health Council in partnership with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, Michigan Primary Care Association, Michigan Center for Rural Health, Michigan Association of Home Health and Hospice, and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Office of Tribal Government Services and Policy.
Interested in sponsoring this event? Contact [email protected]
Agenda
🕑: 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Registration and light continental breakfast
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:15 AM
Welcome Address
Host: Craig Donahue, President & CEO of MHC
🕑: 09:15 AM - 10:15 AM
KEYNOTE: How Should Workforce Drive People to Healthcare?
Host: Nick Beadle
Info: Healthcare Is Driving American Workforce Development. How Should Workforce Drive People to Healthcare? Political leaders and policymakers often cite healthcare as one of the most innovative occupations in American workforce development. The field's shortages remain a key concern as much of the American population ages. Yet, policymakers also have passed over the sector when making funding decisions, and they remain limited in their understanding of how the field works and what it takes to get more qualified workers into it. So what should they be doing, and how we can push leaders in workforce and education to do better by healthcare workers and employers?
🕑: 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Break
🕑: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Innovating the Workforce: Emerging Roles Filling Michigan's Healthcare Gaps
Info: Emerging healthcare occupations are reshaping how care is delivered and expanding access to services across Michigan. This panel will explore how innovative roles, including Community Health Workers, Community Integrated Paramedics, and Dental Therapists, are helping address workforce shortages, improve access to care, and better meet the needs of their communities.
Panelists will discuss the opportunities and challenges of establishing these professions, building sustainable education and training pathways, navigating policy and reimbursement barriers, and supporting long-term workforce growth. Attendees will gain insight into how these emerging roles are transforming healthcare delivery and what lessons they offer for the future of Michigan's healthcare workforce.
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
RHTP and the Rural Workforce: Year One Perspectives
Info: The Michigan Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is creating new opportunities to strengthen and sustain the healthcare workforce across rural Michigan. This session will spotlight RHTP-funded initiatives focused specifically on the healthcare workforce and addressing challenges, bringing together the projects, partners, and strategies behind this work.
Attendees will learn about the goals and expected impact of these initiatives, explore opportunities for partnership and alignment, and consider how organizations across Michigan can help amplify their reach. The session will also create space to discuss how the momentum, partnerships, and promising practices emerging from these investments can be sustained and built upon for long-term impact.
🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:15 PM
Networking Lunch
🕑: 01:15 PM - 02:00 PM
Meeting the Moment: Addressing Workforce Shortages in an Aging Michigan
Host: Karalyn Kiessling & Aleysha Czartoszewski
Info: As Michigan’s population continues to age, the demand for healthcare services is accelerating—placing increasing pressure on an already strained workforce. In this session, MHC Insight will examine projected workforce shortages in occupations which are expected to experience further strain as more older adults require care. We will also address how projected shortages may impact overall patient access, care quality, and the broader healthcare system. The discussion will conclude by highlighting emerging strategies, innovative approaches, and promising practices to strengthen recruitment, retention, and workforce capacity in the face of growing demand.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Rooted in Experience: Strengthening the Tribal Healthcare Workforce
Host: Don Lyons, MSW
Info: Rooted in both lived experience and extensive professional practice, this interactive one-hour session explores the distinct healthcare workforce challenges facing Tribal communities and offers actionable pathways forward. Grounded in an authentic Tribal perspective, the presentation examines systemic barriers affecting recruitment, education, training, and retention of healthcare professionals.
Participants will engage in a forward-looking dialogue on practical strategies, cross-sector partnerships, and policy opportunities that Tribal Nations, healthcare systems, academic institutions, and state partners can co-create. Together, we will examine culturally centered solutions that build sustainable Tribal healthcare capacity while bolstering the broader healthcare ecosystem across Michigan.
🕑: 03:00 PM - 03:15 PM
Break
🕑: 03:15 PM - 04:00 PM
Inspiring Tomorrow’s Healthcare Professionals: Career Awareness for Michigan
Info: The session will also feature a moderated employer panel sharing firsthand perspectives on how participation in an ELC has helped their organizations develop talent, strengthen partnerships, and respond to workforce challenges. Attendees will leave with practical examples and lessons that can inform employer-led workforce strategies in their own regions.
🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:30 PM
From Ideas to Action: Building Michigan’s Healthcare Workforce Together
Host: Craig Donahue
Info: Throughout the day, we’ve explored the forces shaping Michigan’s healthcare workforce—from demographic change and persistent workforce shortages to emerging occupations, rural investments, new partnerships, and innovative approaches to delivering care. This closing session will bring those conversations together and shift the focus from what we heard to what we can do next.
Through facilitated reflection and discussion, attendees will identify the ideas that resonated most, consider opportunities for greater collaboration and alignment, and share the actions they believe could make the greatest difference for Michigan’s healthcare workforce. The session will conclude by identifying shared priorities and opportunities to carry the momentum of the Summit forward.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 125.00 to USD 150.00
