In June 2025, the Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County (HIP) hosted an in-person Health Workforce Council, sharing updates on HIP’s new strategic plan and the release of our Health Workforce 2024 Listening Tour in Santa Cruz County: The Future of the Health Workforce Council report. Within the report, HIP’s sustainability plan was to apply for social bond funding to strengthen and expand the capacity of HIP’s workforce development program to advance actionable solutions to meet employer health workforce needs.
We are pleased to announce the continuation of the Santa Cruz County Health Workforce Council (HWC), launched in June 2022, for an additional 12 months, with funding awarded by the Health Career Connection’s Regional Health Workforce Initiative through funding from The California Endowment’s social bond. The award was announced at the in-person Health Workforce Council Quarterly Convening on December 17th, 2025.
The purpose of the grant is to support the development, expansion, and sustainability of a regional health workforce initiative that addresses employer-defined health workforce needs through convening, coordination, and systems-change efforts. HIP will engage key stakeholders to build a more robust and inclusive health workforce for individuals of all backgrounds, increase career opportunities for residents, strengthen regional workforce ecosystems, and elevate regional priorities to inform state policy and systems change. HIP is among 11 organizations across California that were awarded funds.
“We are pleased to award the Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County a planning grant. We believe in you and your work and look forward to your success and impact.” – Jeff Oxendine, Founder and CEO, Health Career Connection
Additionally, the one-year planning grant will focus on further developing the Santa Cruz County Health Workforce Council in the following areas: the Monterey Bay Nursing Clinical Placement Consortium, the Health Career Pathways Committee, and the Monterey Bay Community Health Worker Collaborative, as well as planning for future health workforce retreats and employer summits in 2026 and 2027. Additional information about the grant and health workforce areas of focus for 2026 will be shared at HIP’s virtual Health Workforce Council Convening on March 18th, 2026. For more information, please visit our website: www.hipscc.org/workforce.
