Episode #71: When Care Drives What’s Possible: Solving the Healthcare Workforce Crisis

What do you do when a workforce crisis threatens the future of healthcare? Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health, designed a bold, people-first solution that is actively changing what’s possible for the industry and for those who serve in it and the patients who depend on it.

A Vietnam refugee who experienced firsthand what it means to face a system that wasn't built for you, Van turned those early lessons into a leadership philosophy rooted in courage, care, and paying it forward. Today, she leads one of the most innovative approaches to workforce development in the country, removing financial barriers, building allied health pipelines, and creating pathways for people who want to work in healthcare but don't know how to break in.

In this episode, Van shares what innovators and C-suite leaders across every industry need to hear: how to build coalitions through influence, how to listen in ways that surface real needs, and how AI can expand human capability rather than replace it. With an aging population and shrinking talent pipelines, the leaders who win won't be the ones who wait. They'll be the ones who invest boldly in people and possibility.

 🎧 Listen in as hosts, Altus executive coaches Pam Fox Rollin and Dan Winter, draw out insights you can apply immediately to your teams, your strategy, and the kind of future worth building together.

Key Moments You’ll Want to Hear

02:15: What’s driving the healthcare workforce shortage, and why investing in allied healthcare workers may be the solution.
04:09: Why Van Ton-Quinlivan left a billion-dollar public education system to build Futuro Health.
08:12: The three barriers keeping talented adults out of healthcare: rigid education pathways, confusing credential navigation, and lack of support.
10:26: How leaders build listening circles that surface the real needs of workers, teams, and communities.
12:40: Why naming an initiative helps large organizations align and act.
15:14: How leaders design incentives that increase cross-department collaboration.
17:50: How leaders help people break from “the way we’ve always done it” and move toward a shared future.
23:13: Why leaders who know what they truly care about unlock courage, resilience, and stronger decision-making.
26:38: How effective leaders balance expertise with curiosity and orchestrate learning so teams discover solutions together.
29:27: How healthcare employers are thinking about AI and workforce development, and what it signals for leaders redesigning roles.
35:15: Why AI’s greatest value in healthcare is extending human capability, not replacing it.
36:09: Three real stories of career transformation, and what they reveal about designing pathways that include overlooked talent.
41:57: Coalition of the willing vs. coalition of the committed, and why commitment unlocks innovation inside teams.
43:25: Final takeaway: how leaders unlock their superpower by naming the commitments that drive their leadership.

By the end of this conversation, you’ll hear answers to:

What’s driving the healthcare workforce shortage?

The shortage is largely demographic. The population is aging rapidly, increasing demand for care while the number of working-age adults continues to decline. Much of the solution lies in expanding and supporting allied health roles—EMTs, medical assistants, lab technicians, patient care coordinators—who make up about 65% of the healthcare workforce but are often overlooked in workforce planning. Timestamp: 02:15

How do leaders uncover what workers actually need?

Leaders uncover real needs by listening directly to the people experiencing the system. Van describes building listening circles and focus groups, including conversations in multiple languages, to hear the lived experiences of adult learners and workers. These conversations revealed the real barriers: inflexible training, confusing credential pathways, and lack of mentorship and support. Timestamp: 10:26

How do executives increase collaboration across departments?

Collaboration rarely happens because leaders simply ask for it. It happens when incentives reward coordination. Van explains how organizations can design grants, initiatives, or internal projects that require teams to work together. When collaboration becomes the path to opportunity and resources, people build the relationships and systems needed to make it work, and repeat the behavior. Timestamp: 15:14

How should leaders think about AI and workforce strategy?

Rather than replacing workers, AI is more likely to extend the capabilities of healthcare teams. As technical knowledge becomes more accessible through AI tools, the most valuable human skills will be relational: empathy, judgment, communication, and coordination across care teams. Leaders must redesign roles and workforce development pathways with this shift in mind. Timestamps: 29:27, 35:15

I found that when I really care about the issues, then I'm able to become fierce and go beyond my perception of myself.

About Van Ton-Quinlivan 

Founder and CEO, Van Ton-Quinlivan, leads Futuro Health, whose nonprofit mission is to improve the health and wealth of communities by growing the largest network of allied healthcare workers in the nation. She is a nationally recognized thought leader and workforce strategist, with a distinguished career spanning the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. A former Executive Vice Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, she has been recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change, honored with the California Steward Leader Award, and served as a mediaX  Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. Her work has been recognized by the World Health Organization, National Governors Association, and the New York Times. A Governor Newsom appointee to California's Health Workforce Education and Training Council, she is a podcast host and author of best-seller book, WorkforceRx: Inclusive and Agile Strategies for Employers, Educators, and Workers In Unsettled Times.

You can connect with Van on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vtquinlivan/ 

About Altus Growth Partners

At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results.

We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It’s in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose.

Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what’s possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them.

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Keywords: 

#Healthcare #WorkforceDevelopment #TalentPipeline