Take care of your clinicians—before someone else does

I stumbled across a report from Mercer that predicts by 2028, the US will be short over 100,000 critical healthcare workers. And while this isn’t exactly new information (anyone in healthcare is painfully aware of the shortages), it hit me once again: this problem is a monster.

But that reminded me of the story of George F. Johnson, the man behind the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company.George F. wasn’t just any company owner. He was the kind of boss you wish you had today. He introduced the 8-hour workday, low-cost housing and free healthcare to his employees. Yes, free! He didn’t stop there. He built entire towns for his workers, complete with libraries, parks andhospitals. And you know what? He did all this without cutting wages—in fact, his workers were some of the highest-paid in the shoe industry while being consistently profitable.

George F. understood something fundamental: if you take care of your people, they’ll take care of you.

Which brings me back to this whole healthcare crisis. I’m convinced the solution isn't just about new policies or more compensation (though those things are important). The organizations that will thrive are the ones laser-focused on creating an exceptional provider experience—attracting and keeping top clinical talent like their survival depends on it. Because it does.

Forget about the patient experience for a minute. Make your company a better place to work. Because if you don’t have enough doctors, nurses, or clinicians, it won’t matter how shiny your patient app is—you’ll have no one to actually provide the care.

I’ve spoken with plenty of care organizations that are already making this shift. They understand that focusing on the provider experience is not a luxury—it’s essential for long-term survival.

So, the fix? Channel your inner George F. Johnson. Build the metaphorical parks, offer the 8-hour workday, and for the love of all things healthcare, take care of your people. Because if you're not taking care of them, someone else will.

PS: Not sure where to start? Check out my CareEx article from a few months back.

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Quick intro: we’re Thomas and Rik, building Awell - a low-code platform allowing care teams to design, implement and optimize care flows in days, not months. CareOps grew out of our years spent improving CareOps at innovative providers.