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Biography

Susan M. Skillman, MS, is the Senior Deputy Director of the University of Washington (UW) Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS). Her research covers a wide array of health workforce topics, including studies of the nursing, primary care, behavioral health, pharmacy, and oral health workforces; workforce demand across health care settings; education pathways for many health care occupations; as well as rural health workforce issues. Along with her UW CHWS position, Ms. Skillman has also been a research scientist with the UW WWAMI Rural Health Research Center where she served as Deputy Director from 2008-2013. She also concurrently served as Associate Director of the WWAMI Area Health Education Center from 2011-2018. Among current work, Ms. Skillman is an investigator on multiple nationally-focused research projects through the UW CHWS’ HRSA-funded Health Workforce Research Centers, and directs Washington’s Oral Health Workforce Tracking Program, funded jointly by the State and Delta Dental of Washington. She was the co-developer of Washington’s Health Workforce Sentinel Network with Washington’s Workforce Board, and collaborated with the Workforce Board on multiple legislated assessments of Washington’s behavioral health workforce. Ms. Skillman advises health workforce planning efforts at state and national levels, is on the advisory board of Washington’s Allied Health Center of Excellence, has served on planning committees for national and international conferences, and has held consulting roles with the National Governor’s Association and the Institute of Medicine, among others. Prior positions included ten years with the UW’s Department of Health Services and eight years with the Center for Health Studies at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound. She graduated from Whitman College and completed graduate education at Washington State University.

 

CHWS Publications

For full listings, please visit the CHWS website

Lee D, van Eijk MS, Oster NV, Frogner BK, Skillman SM. US Home Care Worker’s Access to and Use of Benefits During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study Home Health Care Management & Practice 12-13-2024

Guenther GA, Shahrir SF, Skillman SM, Kundu I, Garcia E, Frogner BK. Career Pathways Into the Medical Laboratory Workforce: Education, Exposures, and Motivations American Journal of Clinical Pathology aqae151 12-06-2024

Stubbs BA, Nguyen NH, Guenther GA, Skillman SM. Washington’s Health Workforce Sentinel Network: Summary of Spring 2024 Findings Center for Health Workforce Studies, University of Washington 06-13-2024

Bacci JL, Oster NV, Pollack SW, Skillman SM. A Qualitative Analysis of Opportunities to Strengthen Pharmacy Technician Career Pathways Across Practice Settings American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 08-13-2024

Bacci JL, Oster NV, Skillman SM. Insights into Decreasing Applicants to Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy in the United States Center for Health Workforce Studies, University of Washington 08-16-2024

 

CHWS Presentations

For full listings, please visit the CHWS website

Skillman SM. Understanding Who Is Providing What Healthcare Services to Whom and Where: Health Workforce Data Experiences from Washington State National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Healthcare Workforce Peer Learning Group, Salt Lake City, UT

Stubbs BA, Skillman SM, Fullerton R. Understanding the Pharmacy Workforce: National and Local Data Sources and What They Can Tell Us Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission Business Meeting, Hybrid Event

Stubbs BA, Skillman SM, Guenther GA, Fullerton R. The Washington Health Workforce Sentinel Network: Past Successes and Plan for the Future Sentinel Network Advisory Committee Meeting, Virtual Event

Stubbs BA, Skillman SM, Fullerton R, Smith D. Using Health Workforce Sentinel Network Data to Understand Employer Demand in Washington State Washington DSHS Research and Data Analysis Long-Term Care Evaluation Team, Virtual Event

Stubbs BA, Skillman SM, Guenther GA. The Washington Health Workforce Sentinel Network: Recent Findings from Adult Family Homes Adult Family Home Council Meeting, Virtual Event

 

RHRC Publications

For full listings, please visit the RHRC website

Kaplan L, Pollack SM, Skillman SM, Patterson DG. Is Being There Enough? Postgraduate Nurse Practitioner Residencies in Rural Primary Care J Rural Health 11-22-2022

Mroz TM, Garberson LA, Andrilla CHA, Skillman SM, Larson EH, Patterson DG. Post-acute care trajectories for rural Medicare beneficiaries: planned versus actual hospital discharges to skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, University of Washington 03-24-2021

Kaplan L, Pollack SW, Skillman S, Patterson DG. Factors that encourage and support advanced practice registered nurses to work in rural and safety-net settings J Health Care Poor Underserved 31(5):163-181 11-01-2020

Kaplan L, Pollack SW, Skillman SM, Patterson DG. NP program efforts promoting transition to rural practice The Nurse Practitioner 45(10):48-55 10-01-2020

Mroz TM, Andrilla CHA, Garberson LA, Skillman SM, Patterson DG, Wong JL, Larson EH. Variation in use of home health care among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries by rural-urban status and geographic region: assessing the potential for unmet need WWAMI Rural Health Research Center 02-01-2020

 

RHRC Presentations

For full listings, please visit the RHRC website

Mroz TM, Garberson LA, Andrilla CHA, Skillman SM, Patterson DG. Quality of post-acute care for rural Medicare beneficiaries: Comparing urban and rural skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting

Mroz TM, Garberson LA, Andrilla CHA, Skillman SM, Patterson DG, Larson EH. Planned versus actual discharges to post-acute care for rural Medicare beneficiaries AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting

Mroz TM, Garberson LA, Andrilla CHA, Skillman SM, Patterson DG, Larson EH. Variation in use of home health care by urban-rural status and geography AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, Washington, DC.

Mroz TM, Andrilla CHA, Skillman SM, Garberson LA, Patterson DG, Wong JA, & Larson EH. Relationship between Medicaid expenditures on home- and community-based services and use of community-entry home health by rural Medicare beneficiaries Poster presented at the AcademyHealth –Long Term Services and Support Interest Group Meeting, Seattle, WA

Mroz TM, Andrilla CHA, Garberson LA, Skillman SM, Patterson DG, Larson EH, & Karmarkar A. Rehabilitation services in home health for lower extremity joint replacement and quality outcomes for rural Medicare beneficiaries Poster presented at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, Seattle, WA