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Fact Sheet
Background
Until 2003, there has never been a full census of Washington
state’s public health workforce. We have known that many of our
co-workers have training that we aren’t aware of, or have valuable
backgrounds that are different from the roles they play in their
current job. They may have professional credentials that could be
helpful to the system, if we only knew about them.
In order to speak more effectively about who we are and what we
do … we need to better understand our workforce! This information is
important when talking to policy makers and partners in our
communities. For example, it’s very difficult to explain that we
need more people in a specific discipline or region if we can’t say
how many people with certain skills or in certain roles we have now.
And for effective recruitment and retention, we need to know how
long we’ve been in these roles, and how long we plan to stay.
Everybody Counts! A Public Health Census
From November 13 – December 13, 2003, the Public Health
Improvement Partnership’s (PHIP) Workforce Development Committee
conducted a full census of the state and local public health
governmental workforce in Washington state (about 5,400 people).We
used the Department of Health’s online survey tool, which served as
an efficient way for staff to complete the survey.
This survey was the first phase of a project to understand the
entire public health workforce in Washington. We began with
governmental public health workers, but may later expand our work to
include other public health partners.
The information from the census has provided us with a better
description of Washington’s public health workforce in order to help
us plan for succession, prevention of shortages, training, and other
changes. The initial report describes, maps, and begins to track the
public health workforce in order to:
• Identify and describe gaps and concerns related to workforce
shortages and planning for future public health vacancies,
especially around recruitment, selection, and job satisfaction.
• Review the work we do, across all job categories, with
implications for training, educational preparation, recruitment, and
retention planning.
• Document the diversity of our workforce and our special skills and
abilities.
Timeline
September 2003:
• Planned overall census and survey process by subcommittee.
• Educated management staff (DOH and LHJs) about the census.
October 2003:
• Pilot tested the survey instrument at the Joint Conference on
Health in Yakima.
• Reviewed results of pilot and revised accordingly.
• Began marketing the survey.
November –December 2003:
• Survey was ongoing throughout November and early December 2003
• Marketing continued throughout November 2003.
• Thank-you/“wrap-up” messages.
March - April 2004:
• Celebration event for the winning LHJ or DOH program along
with notice of the LHJ or DOH program with the highest participation
rate, sent to public health staff.
• Results are being shared statewide and emphasized as celebration
of public health workforce during Public Health Week in April.
Where can I get a copy of the report?
The report is available to everyone on-line at:
http://www2.doh.wa.gov/phip/survey/everybodycounts/default.htm
For more information about this project
For more information about this project:
Janice Taylor
PHEverybodyCounts@doh.wa.gov
360-236-4086
PHIP
Workforce Development Co-Chairs:
Jack Thompson, Northwest Center for Public Health Practice;
Sue Grinnell, Cowlitz County
Staff
Lillian Bensley DOH Office of Epidemiology
Marie Flake DOH Office of Public Health Systems Planning and
Development
Janice Taylor DOH Washington Public Health Training Network (Project
Manager)
We recognize the contributions of the
following DOH staff members:
Don Martin and Vonda Witley, design and production
Kay Koth, report proofreading
Jill Hanks, marketing and distribution
Doug Keck, Steve Macdonald, and Jack Jourden, survey development
Susan Shoblom, Pam Lovinger, and Bonnie King, Health Professions
Licensing and Credentialing
Torie Hernandez, data-cleaning
Ramona Nelson, constructing tables
Danny Francis, survey application
Marie Flake, overall guidance and direction
Dai Le, Danny Francis, and Bob Clark, WWW technical
Christie Spice, reviewer
Project Consultants
Alice Porter, editorial services
Cassandra McElfish, coding
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