Senate Public Health Chair wants more focus on physician shortage

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

State Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, wants a stronger state focus on a physician shortage issue that she says threatens the health of rural Arkansans.

Irvin, who chairs the Senate Public Health Committee, appeared on this week’s Capitol View program and stressed that the medical worker shortage is a major workforce issue.

“I’m calling on the Secretary of Commerce to really put this at the top priority of his list. This is a workforce development issue and we’ve got to have more residencies in the state of Arkansas,” she said.

A report from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement released this week shows that Arkansas does not have enough medical residencies for graduates to move into, which creates a net exodus of potential doctors from the state.

Senate Public Health Chair wants more focus on physician shortage