Statement by the President and Letter on the Health Manpower Shortage.

WE HAVE MADE great progress in this country in bringing medical services to all our people. Advances in medical science and our increasing capacity to give better medical care impose a heavy demand for trained people to provide these services. Our examination of the Nation's health problem makes clear that the most critical need is in the manpower field. I am very hopeful that the National Advisory Commission on Health Manpower, chaired by J. Irwin Miller, will produce plans for increasing the supply of health manpower and improving the ways in which we use that supply.

Congress has passed major legislation to improve and expand our resources in health manpower. These include:

--The Manpower Development and Training Act

--The Vocational Education Act

--The Health Professions Educational Assistance Act

--The Nurse Training Act

--The Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke Amendments

--The Economic Opportunity Act.

Programs authorized by this legislation will provide thousands of well-trained health workers to bring the benefits of modern medicine to all Americans.

In addition, Congress is now considering the allied health professions personnel training bill to provide specially trained health workers and teachers, and the comprehensive health planning bill to permit better utilization of health workers in State and local programs. I urge passage of this vital legislation.

Meanwhile, I have asked the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Administrator of the Veterans Administration, and the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity to examine our training programs to determine how they can be better focused on shortages in this field, especially programs designed to bring back trained workers not presently employed.

Because of the budgetary situation, it is of the utmost importance that we employ ingenuity and imagination to adjust existing programs to meet this urgent health manpower need.

Finally, I have asked the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to cooperate with the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Nurses Association in making an intensive study of hospitals which provide efficient and economical use of nurses and other health workers. We must seek to extend such experience to hospitals throughout the country.

THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO SECRETARY OF

HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE JOHN

W. GARDNER

Dear Mr. Secretary:

Our examination of the nation's health problem makes clear that the most critical need is in the manpower field. I am very hopeful that the National Advisory Commission on Health Manpower, chaired by J. Irwin Miller, will produce plans for increasing the supply of health manpower and improving the ways in which we use that supply.

In the meantime, however, I want to be sure that we explore every existing possibility to help meet this need. The federal government has a number of programs and facilities which we should be able to utilize. I would like to make certain that federal training programs are better focused on this problem, including programs to bring back trained workers not presently employed in the health field.

I would like you to work with Secretary Wirtz, Veterans Administrator Driver and Director Shriver of the Office of Economic Opportunity and submit your joint proposals to me at the earliest practicable time.

In addition, I hope you will cooperate with the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Nurses Association in making an intensive study of hospitals which provide efficient and economical use of nurses and other health workers. We must seek to extend such experience to hospitals throughout the country.

Because of the budgetary situation, with which you are fully familiar, it is of the utmost importance that we employ ingenuity and imagination to adjust existing programs to meet our urgent health manpower needs.

Sincerely,

LYNDON B. JOHNSON