He talked about the impacts they have on rural health care and cited his budget proposal that now sits in front of the General Assembly.

“One of those key areas that my budget invests in is on rural health care and making sure that we’ve got the personnel we need in our rural communities to keep people healthy and safe,” Gov. Shapiro said.

“We know that burnout is real,” Dr. Latika Davis-Jones, the secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs, said. “The people on the front lines of the crises that are healers and helpers are carrying a heavy load. They are saving lives, but they need support, too.”

According to the proposed budget, in urban counties there is one primary care physician for every 222 residents. For rural counties, that number increases to 522.

“More than 850,000 Pennsylvanians and there are 13 million Pennsylvanians, we’re talking about a big chunk, do not have enough health care providers in their communities,” Shapiro said.

The behavioral health care sector could get up to $10 million in next year’s budget to expand the primary care loan repayment program at the Department of Health.

The Nursing Shortage Assistance Program could get up to $5 million.

“This is not an employment challenge. This is a workforce challenge,” Shapiro said. “It’s on us to plan for a future right now.”