Database of Health Workforce Innovations
673
Transform laid-off airline staff into health workers
Current health workforce experienced high sickness and attrition rates. Airlines and other service industries experienced huge revenue loss and had to let go many employees.
Health care industry is facing with high absenteeism and turnover rates. There are over 13,000 health care workers across Canada infected with COVID-19 by the end of June. On May 15, Air Canada announced to lay off 20,000 workers as pandemic collapses travel industry. Other airlines also take similar steps to respond to the revenue loss. Basic health care training could be provided to these laid-off airline employees in order to prepare them to work as nursing aide or health care assistant.
- Back-up solutions for absenteeism
- Other
- Alternative deployments for health workers whose normal duties are temporarily suspended
- Non-traditional Health Workers
Airline staff are experienced service workers and have received substantial training that is similar to what health care workers received to serve clients/patients. The current impact on the health care industry and airline business due to COVID-19 pandemic can be rectified if the laid-off airline staff could work for the health care industry after receiving basic health care training.
- Community Health Services
- Home Care Services
- Long-Term Care
- Primary Health Care
- Public Health
- Other
Relevance of the training; similarity of work settings; comparability of salary; risk assessment; risk prevention methods.
Informal Strategy
If this innovation works, it will bring win-win to both health care and airline industries. it would avoid the brain waste and deploy the workforce to the most needed area.
Canada