Regional Information Center
About us

The WWAMI Center for Health Workforce Studies Regional Information Center (RIC), was established to improve the quantity and quality of information about the health workforce in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and other Northwest states in order to assist the University of Washington School of Medicine, other regional health science schools, and policy makers in those states to understand and meet the regional populations' needs for health professionals.

Background: High quality health workforce information is a critical tool for regions, states, and educational institutions – both to improve health care access for residents, and for states' economic development. The U.S. Department of Labor calls the health care sector a “high growth industry” that includes ten of the twenty fastest growing occupations through 2012. Identifying current and predicting future workforce shortages and understanding the distribution of health care workers gives government, educators and industry the opportunity to take advantage of employment opportunities, and to craft specific solutions to health workforce problems. This information is needed for the entire spectrum of health care workers providing services in medical care, oral health care, and public health arenas.

WWAMI Center for Health Workforce Studies: The University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies (WWAMI CHWS) is one of six workforce centers across the U.S. with core support from the Bureau of Health Professions in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The Center conducts policy-relevant research on the regional and U.S. health workforce, often in collaboration with government agencies, health providers, and other researchers. Center research and analysis topics have spanned the occupations of the health workforce. The Center examines issues of workforce supply, demand, and population need, and has examined historical trends as well as made specific workforce projections for the future. The Regional Information Center (RIC) resides within the WWAMI CHWS.

Contact Us

Mark Doescher, Director phone: 206-685-0402
Sue Skillman, Deputy Director fax: 206-616-4768
  email: chws@fammed.washington.edu
Regional Information Center  
Center for Health Workforce Studies Street address:
Box 354982 4311 11th Avenue NE
University of Washington Suite 210
Seattle, WA 98195-4982 Seattle, WA 98105