Georgia health care workforce shortage puts pressure on patients

Georgia health care leaders are focusing on the state's workforce shortage Wednesday and what it could mean for patients trying to find care. The issue is part of the conversation at Health Connect South at the Georgia Aquarium.

Caylee Noggle, president and CEO of the Georgia Hospital Association, said the shortage includes nurses, physicians, behavioral health professionals, and other health care workers. 

"When hospitals can't find enough nurses, physicians, behavioral health professionals, or even EMS personnel, patients really feel that through longer wait times, fewer available services, and greater pressure even on emergency departments," Noggle said.

The impact can be especially significant in rural communities, where Noggle said a lack of workers could put some services at risk. 

For Atlanta resident Sherran Mumphrey, accessing care for her mother can mean hours on the road and at the hospital. Mumphrey's 81-year-old mother lives in Cordele and has battled cancer for more than two decades. Mumphrey said her mother had throat cancer in 2002, lung cancer in 2016 and cancer in her other lung in 2022.

Her longtime cancer team is in Albany, about 40 to 45 miles from her home. Mumphrey said the family tried establishing care closer to home, but when her mother was sick, it could sometimes take two days to hear back from the doctor's office. 

"We're just so busy," Mumphrey said the office told her.

Mumphrey lives about 135 miles from her mother and is her only surviving child. She said the Albany appointments can consume an entire day. During one recent visit, Mumphrey said they were at the hospital from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. 

"If it was closer, like she could drive herself," Mumphrey said. "Or some of my friends could take her. They're willing to take her."

New numbers also show many of the doctors trained in Georgia are heading elsewhere for residency. The Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce's 2026 medical school graduate survey found 709 graduates matched into residency programs; of those, 462, or 65.2%, matched outside Georgia, while 247, or 34.8%, matched in the state. That's nearly two out of every three.

Another finding stood out: 25.5% of the graduates leaving Georgia said they wanted to stay but did not match with a Georgia residency program. The survey found graduates also cited highly regarded out-of-state programs, family, higher resident salaries, and specialty availability among their reasons for leaving. "We are absolutely not training enough to meet future demand," Noggle said.

Noggle said expanding the workforce will require more than recruiting doctors. She pointed to the need for more faculty and funding to expand training programs. 

"The more faculty that we can recruit and funding that we can put into those programs to expand our training capacity," Noggle said.

Noggle said hospitals are also partnering with K-12 schools, technical colleges and universities to build interest in health care careers and increase training opportunities.

For patients, she said the workforce ultimately determines whether care is available. 

"An insurance card is really important for patients, but it doesn't deliver care. People do," Noggle said. "And so we have to continue finding ways to increase that workforce so that we can meet the needs of every Georgian in every community."