The healthcare labor crisis has reached a tipping point. Hospitals and health systems nationwide struggle to recruit, retain, and fill skills gaps at the pace needed to meet patient needs.

And the projections are sobering: Lightcast projects that the healthcare sector will face a shortage of 160,000 workers each year through 2030, totaling nearly 800,000. These workforce gaps aren’t distant hypotheticals—they are forming right now, with ripple effects that C-suite executives cannot afford to ignore.

This workforce shortage is not a cyclical issue that will resolve on its own. Demand for care is climbing rapidly as the population ages, despite the supply of workers failing to keep pace. Healthcare sits in the eye of the labor shortage storm—meaning workforce planning must be a mission-critical component of operational and financial continuity. In this report, we explore how this crisis formed, what it means for healthcare organizations, and importantly, what actionable steps leaders must take now to ensure their hospitals and healthcare systems have the staff needed to survive and succeed.