Covista Featured as a Case Study in New McKinsey Report on Rural Health Workforce
Covista is featured as a case study in a new report on the rural health workforce by the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility and the McKinsey Health Institute. The report, titled Rural healthcare and America’s $340 billion workforce earnings opportunity, finds that millions of Americans could fill open healthcare roles, particularly in rural communities, and highlights strategies to expand access to education and economic opportunity.
As America’s largest healthcare educator, Covista exists to build those pathways: to open doors and unlock potential for the working parents, career changers and first-generation students who are ready to step in and provide care in their communities.
Sizing and closing the rural healthcare workforce gap
The report sizes the U.S. shortage of nursing and allied health workers at about 400,000. Rural communities feel the gap most: in 2023, about 92% of rural counties carried a primary care Health Professional Shortage Area designation. At the same time, the report counts roughly 38 million Americans whose jobs and skills could translate into nursing and allied health roles and calls them the “bridge workforce.” About 69% of them already work full time.
The findings estimate that shifting about 1% of the bridge workforce, roughly 384,000 people, into nursing and allied health roles would cover most of the national healthcare workforce shortage. It also projects that the added annual earnings of these workers could be increased by approximately $40,000 on average. The report’s figures cover nursing and allied health together, so they describe the broader gap, not nursing alone.
The barrier to getting more people into healthcare roles isn't interest—it's access. The report cites that, of the surveyed bridge workers outside healthcare, 58% say they are interested in entering the field. Among the survey respondents, 43% cite covering lost income during training as a barrier, and 41% struggle to fit training around work and family.
The case study describes how two Covista institutions, Walden University and Chamberlain University, pair flexible online programs with clinical rotations in local health system facilities. The result is a viable pathway for students who want to study and practice within their local communities while balancing their day jobs and family commitments.
Key takeaways from the case study:
Who are Covista's Walden and Chamberlain students?
Across both schools, more than 90% of students are over age 24; two-thirds care for children or adults or say caregiving for family members impacts their daily lives; more than 75% work full-time while in school; and nearly 40% are first-generation college students. These are the students that most higher education pathways weren't designed for.
Are Covista graduates filling roles in rural communities?
Yes. In a June 2026 survey of Covista alumni, more than 30% of respondents reported practicing in rural or medically underserved areas. The reach is even greater at Walden, where nearly 40% of nursing graduates practice in rural or underserved areas, and 17% of students come from rural communities.
By offering online or hybrid programs, students across Covista institutions are able to access healthcare education while staying in their local communities, creating the potential for them to also practice there later on.
Is AI in healthcare education closing the AI-readiness gap?
The case study notes that AI credentials built for healthcare are part of the curriculum at both schools, which speaks to a readiness gap that tends to linger in rural communities. Across all five Covista institutions, students and alumni can earn healthcare AI credentials developed with Google Cloud.
How do health system partnerships create a path from enrollment to employment?
Covista partners with health systems to build direct pathways from enrollment to employment. Through Chamberlain’s nursing partnerships with SSM Health and Advocate Health, students receive financial assistance and on-site clinical experience to complete their BSN and familiarize themselves with the facilities, staff and culture they will be a part of.
How does Covista support rural healthcare beyond partnerships?
Covista is a founding member of the Alliance for Advancing Rural Healthcare (AARH), an eight-organization coalition launched by SAIC in February 2026 to help states turn federal rural health investment into lasting change. Covista contributes to what the coalition needs most: a pipeline of practice-ready clinicians who go to work in the communities that need care.
Read the full report: Rural healthcare and America’s $340 billion workforce earnings opportunity by the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, supported by the McKinsey Health Institute.
