VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

The comptroller general of the United States announced today the appointment of Dr. Sheldon Retchin as vice chair of the National Health Care Workforce Commission. Retchin is CEO of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System and vice president for Health Sciences at VCU.

Retchin is one of 15 members to be appointed to the commission, which serves as a national resource for Congress, the president and the states regarding the nation’s health care workforce.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act gave the comptroller general of the United States responsibility for appointing members to the National Health Care Workforce Commission.

“I am looking forward to fulfilling the mission of advising Congress and the president on reshaping the U.S. health care workforce,” Retchin said. “This is no small task and will require novel approaches to educate, train and deploy the right blend of health care professionals to accommodate the nation’s needs over the next 10 to 20 years.

“However, I am optimistic that we can take advantage of what works and remodel what does not,” said Retchin.

The commission is charged to develop evaluations of education and training activities and to determine whether the demand for health care professionals is being met. Among other qualifications, the law that created the commission prescribes that appointed members must be nationally recognized for their expertise in health care labor market analysis, including health care workforce analysis, health finance and economics.

“Growth in the cost of labor is the single most important factor in the rise of the cost of health care,” Retchin said. “On the other hand, there is a rising demand for health care because of the demographic changes in the United States. Ten out of 20 of the fastest growing occupations are in health care.  There will be about 3 million new jobs in health care over the next 10 years, more than any other industry.”

Retchin said the commission’s work must simultaneously address the rising costs of labor and access to satisfy the growing demand.

Retchin is a national expert in health policy and health care delivery and has special expertise regarding the Medicare program.  He has had appointments on numerous national panels related to the costs and quality of care, including being one of the original technical advisors for Medicare’s Consumer Assessment of Health Plans study. 

He also is regarded as a national expert on the role of the safety net in health services delivery, testifying before Congress. Retchin currently is chairman of the Advisory Panel on Health Care of the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2007, he was appointed by the secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services to serve as one of 17 members of the Council on Graduate Medical Education, the body that advises the secretary and Congress on issues related to graduate medical education. 

Retchin has served on the boards of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association and the Association of Academic Health Centers. He also was a gubernatorial appointment to the Virginia’s Health Reform Commission, serving as chair of the Access to Care Work Group. 

“I am delighted with the opportunity to serve on the newly formed National Health Care Workforce Commission,” Retchin said. “I am especially appreciative to have been selected as vice chairman by the Comptroller General.”

For more information on the National Health Care Workforce Commission visit http://www.gao.gov/press/nhcwc_2010sep30.html.