Health worker shortage in NH?

Gov. Maggie Hassan has created a commission to study a shortage in New Hampshire's health care workforce.

"New Hampshire is facing a healthcare workforce shortage in fields ranging from direct care workers to pediatric nurses to psychologists, which is increasingly threatening our ability to meet the health care needs of our citizens and making it harder to provide home- and community-based care to New Hampshire residents," said Hassan.

The commission has until December 2016 to report on education, training opportunities, recruitment, pay structures, credentialing, and other regulations that may be limiting the health care workforce.

The commission will be chaired by Dr. Susan Huard, President of Manchester Community College.

Compared to the rest of the United States, however, New Hampshire's health care workforce is not in bad shape.

According to the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration, New Hampshire has 94 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents.  The national average is 76.  New Hampshire also beats the national average for surgeons, psychiatrists, and dentists.