Screengrab of www.choosevirginia.net

The Virginia Department of Health launched a new website, www.choosevirginia.net, aimed at recruiting needed health care workers to the Commonwealth.

The aim is to use the site as a way to provide job information, resources and programs to potential and existing health care professionals, said Aileen Harris, who has helped to lead the sites creation for the health department.

Harris said the site is a pilot effort that was funded with a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Statewide Area Health Education Centers Program.

The site is aimed at everyone from high school students interested in careers in health care to working nurses, doctors and other health professionals. The state is asking anyone with interest in the the health field to register.

One of the goals of the state has been to bring together the various groups that are trying to address the issues surrounding the demand for health care workers in various fields. Shortfalls are predicted, or already exist, in a number of fields.

“There was a lot of fragmented efforts across the state,” said Dr. Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, dean of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and one of the key players in addressing the state’s health care workforce situation.

Tooke-Rawlins said the website is one of the first tangible products to come out of the collaboration.