HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — After Typhoon Mawar put a spotlight on the challenges of dealing with physical damage and the shortage of health and social service professionals, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed Executive Order No. 2023-10, establishing the Guam Health and Social Services Workforce Development Collaborative.
The Collaborative Summit brought together leaders from various organizations to address the issues and set the stage for recovery efforts, also creating nine projects addressing workforce shortages in public health, behavioral health, social work and health care.
“This Collaborative marks a pivotal moment in Guam’s journey toward becoming the premier Health and Social Services Training Center for all of Micronesia, and our founding members and their respective organizations are committed to driving these initiatives forward in the forthcoming months,” said Leon Guerrero.
Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio expressed optimism about the future of Guam’s health professions, saying he believes the summit’s momentum will create a resilient workforce to meet the evolving needs of Guam’s people.
The summit aimed to increase the number of graduates in health care fields, retain and strengthen the current workforce, expand culturally competent health care workers in U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands and boost Guam’s economy with local talent in medical roles.
Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response organized the Collaborative Summit over three days, focusing on strategic planning for Guam’s health and social services workforce and benefiting the broader U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands.
The Guam Health and Social Services Workforce Development Collaborative came together over the course of three days to address issues and set the stage for recovery efforts.
