Report Looks at What It Takes To Build The District’s Health Care Workforce
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – October 1, 2026 — As the nation recognizes Health Care Workforce Development Month, the DCHA Program Services Company, Inc. and the DC Health Care Workforce Partnership is pleased to announce the release of the 2026 Annual Health Care Occupations Report.
The Partnership’s Annual Health Care Occupations Report serves as the Partnership’s annual assessment of the District’s health care workforce landscape. More than an inventory of occupations or a summary of workforce activities, this report examines the trends shaping health care employment, the occupations driving workforce demand, and the collaborative strategies being implemented to strengthen the health care talent pipeline across the district.
The Partnership is an industry-driven, community- supported sector-based alliance consisting of education providers and businesses from acute care, ambulatory and behavioral health, and nursing, residential, and long-term care services. “The Partnership is building a talent pipeline specifically for the needs of employers, while the DC Health Care Employment & Apprenticeship Link (DC HEAL) program is guiding students through their journey of employment and education,” said DCHA President & CEO Jacqueline D. Bowens. “None of this progress would be possible without the extraordinary commitment of our health care businesses, public agencies, educational institutions, workforce partners, philanthropic organizations, and community stakeholders.”
The report examines:
- Where the workforce stands today—and where demand is headed through 2030.
- The missing link between employment and education and what job readiness looks like today.
- What we’re learning from DC HEAL and paid pathways into high-demand health care careers.
- The full range of health care careers, from clinical roles to IT, administration, operations and patient support.
- How individual workforce initiatives can become a connected system through stronger business, education, government and community partnerships.
- Vision 2030 priorities, including AI-enabled care, expanded apprenticeships, and a stronger data-driven workforce ecosystem. After six years of collaboration, the Partnership is moving from individual programs toward a more coordinated workforce system one designed to connect residents to opportunity and employers to talent.
