Show Notes
How did Austin more than double its nursing graduates in just five years?
Beth Vaughn, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CNML, joins Ashley King to discuss the collaborative efforts transforming healthcare workforce development in Central Texas. As Assistant Vice President of Academic Partnerships for HCA Healthcare's Central and West Texas Division, known locally as St. David's HealthCare, Beth shares her personal journey into nursing inspired by her grandmother's care experience. She reveals how her role focuses on capturing nursing graduates, creating residency programs, and building career pathways that have helped St. David's achieve a remarkable 93% one-year retention rate and 90% five-year retention rate for nurses.
The conversation highlights major wins achieved through the Central Texas Healthcare Partnership, including more than doubling nursing graduates from 596 in 2019 to 1,291 in 2024. Beth discusses expanding beyond nursing to address critical shortages in cath lab technicians, nuclear medicine, respiratory therapy, and surgical tech roles. She shares innovative approaches to engaging K-12 students through healthcare expos, hospital field trips, and groundbreaking policies that allow 17-year-olds to work in hospitals while earning certifications. The episode emphasizes that solving Austin's healthcare workforce challenges doesn't happen in a silo but requires hospitals, schools, and community partners working together to build sustainable pipelines for the region's growing healthcare demands.
Beth Vaughn is Assistant Vice President of Academic Partnerships for HCA Healthcare's Central and West Texas Division (St. David's HealthCare). She earned her Doctorate of Nursing from Capella University in 2018 and has served in leadership roles within HCA Healthcare since 2014. Her clinical background includes cardiovascular, neurocritical, and cardiac rehabilitation care. Beth's excellence has been recognized with prestigious awards including the Circle of Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. She collaborates with academic institutions, school districts, and workforce organizations to create healthcare career pathways for K-12 students.
In This Episode:
- (00:00) Beth's inspiration for entering healthcare and her mission to make a difference
- (10:31) Creating awareness of lesser-known healthcare roles beyond what people know
- (17:42) How the Central Texas Healthcare Partnership more than doubled local nursing graduates
- (23:56) Engaging students early through expos, field trips, and high school hiring pathways
- (30:58) The life-changing impact of students graduating high school already earning nursing wages
- (36:21) What's next: continued school and hospital expansion to meet Central Texas' growing demand
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About the show:
Austin Hires Local, powered by Workforce Solutions Capital Area, dives deep with the trailblazers who are shaping the future of jobs in our city, our state, and even nationally. We pull back the curtain on the challenges we all face – the anxieties, the roadblocks, and what's holding us back from filling those critical open positions. But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. We also celebrate the victories: the ingenious solutions, the unexpected collaborations, and the best practices that are making us all sharper. You’ll hear guests from all sides of the table – elected officials with a finger on the pulse of the economy, industry leaders from booming sectors like tech, healthcare, and skilled trades, and educators shaping young minds in our schools and post-secondary education programs. So, tune in and get ready to be informed, inspired, and maybe even surprised by the future of work in Austin.
Resources:
Central Texas Healthcare Partnership: https://www.wfscapitalarea.com/about/industry-sector-partnerships/cthp/
Beth Vaughn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-vaughn-dnp-rn-nea-bc-cnml-593373225
Ashley King on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-king-1316241a2
WFS Workforce Solutions Capital Area: https://wfscapitalarea.com |Thank you to our sponsor: Texas Mutual
About Workforce Solutions Capital Area: Workforce Solutions is the state-designated authority for the data-driven planning, oversight, and evaluation of workforce development activities in Austin-Travis County. They connect local people to the most in-demand industries with quality jobs. These specialized services are provided at no cost - including career training, apprenticeship programs, scholarships, job search assistance, child care assistance, tailored business solutions and more.
