Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra Signs MOU with CSU to Increase Health Care Workforce

The signed MOU between the HHS department and the CSU will help diversity and increase the health workforce. Photo courtesy of CSU.

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra, California State University (CSU) Chancellor Mildred García and HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration Cheryl R. Campbell signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with California State University (CSU,) the nation’s largest four-year public university system. 

As mentioned during Secretary Becerra’s recent visit to San José State University, the memorandum seeks ways to collaborate in channeling students to work in federal health roles and forms a national model for how universities and federal agencies can work together to meet critical workforce needs. 

“The nation’s health is stronger when we have a trained, fully equipped, and well-supported health workforce,” said Secretary Becerra. “Thanks to the CSU system, we continue to move in the right direction towards becoming a stronger and healthier nation.” 

“This partnership represents a vital alliance that will serve as a national model for preparing a new generation of dynamically diverse healthcare professionals to meet our country’s significant and growing workforce needs, particularly in critical areas such as nursing, public health and behavioral health,” said California State University Chancellor Mildred García. “The partnership will expand career development opportunities for CSU students systemwide through the Department’s outstanding internship, mentorship and experiential training programs, greatly enhancing their preparedness for the healthcare workforce, whether at the department, in other federal careers or serving communities here in California or nationwide.”

Secretary Becerra also spoke more broadly about ongoing efforts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to grow, support and strengthen the nation’s health workforce and the action that HHS has taken to advance those issues as part of the HHS Health Workforce Initiative, which has been supported by the Biden Harris Administration.

In addition to the memorandum, HHS today announced new funding opportunities and programs, new tools and websites on HHS.gov to better find information and promote careers in health care, and also released a new report describing some of these persistent challenges facing the health workforce, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some of these challenges.

Learn more on the Health Workforce website.