According to a study by George Mason University’s Center for Health Workforce, Virginia needs more than 17,000 registered nurses and 10,000 medical and human services managers. She noted that the country’s policy system favors funding four-year institutions over short-term and workforce development programs. However, recent federal reform efforts are expanding Pell Grants to workforce training programs, changes that could begin as early as next summer. Legislation to establish lab schools in Virginia first passed in 2012 under former Gov. “There are rewarding and critically needed positions waiting to be filled throughout the healthcare system, but too often people don’t know how to get the training and credentials they need, or face barriers that keep them out of the healthcare workforce,” Hazel said.