Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare is navigating a workforce reality familiar to many Illinois health systems: recruiting talent in a state that continues to see population out-migration.
While the 16-hospital system serves communities across Illinois and Michigan, many of its hospitals and clinics are in smaller or rural markets surrounding regional hubs such as Peoria, Rockford and Bloomington.
“In the state of Illinois, it’s a little bit more challenging because we’re seeing a lot of out-migration,” OSF Chief Human Resource Officer Shelley Parn told Becker’s. “What we are seeing, though, is individuals coming back to their roots — back to some of the communities that surround our hub locations.”
That trend has created a recruiting opportunity for OSF, particularly in rural markets where clinicians are returning home after medical school, fellowships or travel assignments.
“We’ve been able to recruit and retain specifically, for example, in the Western region, Interstate 80, very rural markets,” Ms. Parn said. “Some local individuals have come back to do fellowships in their home communities, and we’ve been able to retain them post-fellowship.”
Illinois recorded one of the slowest housing growth rates in the country between 2024 and 2025 at 0.3%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, reflecting broader population stagnation in the state.
In response, OSF has been rethinking how it delivers care across its rural footprint, including workforce deployment, digital care models and staffing structures tied to its hub-and-spoke system.
“We have to go back to how we deliver healthcare in all of the rural communities,” Ms. Parn said. “Innovation, virtual, technology — all those key components allow a system our size to execute the workforce differently.”
The system has also focused heavily on workforce development and internal pipeline-building as competition for clinical talent intensifies. Nearly one-quarter of practicing physicians are 65 or older, according to 2024 Association of American Medical Colleges data.
OSF has expanded apprenticeships, education assistance, stipends and career pathway programs across both rural and urban markets, Ms. Parn said.
“You have to come to the table and build that bench internally,” she said. “That has to be a key component of your strategy.”
Ms. Parn said OSF has differentiated itself by investing directly in clinical education pathways and workforce development programs.
“We are fully funding a lot of our clinical jobs in the educational paths,” she said. “We have dedicated our investment in our workforce.”
One recent example is the Greater Peoria Healthcare Education Consortium, a newly launched collaboration among healthcare organizations, educational institutions and public school systems aimed at developing and retaining healthcare workers across the region. The initiative, overseen by the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, includes programs spanning from middle school exposure to healthcare careers through medical education.
“I don’t think healthcare systems, specifically in the state of Illinois, can work in silos to make sure we have the workforce that we need in the future,” Ms. Parn said. “We have to have partnerships all across to make sure we have the workforce we need to care for the populations we serve.”
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