Are Rising Wages Making a Difference in Healthcare Worker Shortages?

 
Some call it the effects of the pandemic; others call it the great resignation; no matter what label people pin on the U.S. workforce shortage situation, it’s real and healthcare is not immune to these shortages. The healthcare industry is one of the hardest hit, losing 20% of its workforce over the past two years, including 30% of nursing.

Kevin Stevenson, host of the healthcare insight podcast I don’t Care, and Director of Strategic Operations at Ascension Providence, said wages were rising in healthcare, but that wasn’t necessarily translating to workforce increase or coinciding with healthcare reimbursement increases.

“So many people have left the industry in the past two-and-a-half years, across the board from nurses to physicians, and a large number of administrators have retired early,” Stevenson said.

And some of the essential roles within a hospital, from environmental and nutrition services that do not offer high enough wages, find it difficult to compete with other jobs paying top dollar for similar labor.

“It’s tough to compete when people can go to Chick-fil-A for sometimes five or six dollars more an hour to do work that’s not nearly as physically demanding as many of the jobs we have here in hospitals.”

Even with higher pay offered to nurses and physicians, money alone will not ease the stress the pandemic and understaffing brought to the healthcare workforce. Healthcare organizations are looking for ways to alleviate that pressure, from automated solutions to reduce burdensome EHR documentation to states providing various loan forgiveness programs.

Stevenson said it was critical for healthcare organizations to work within their communities and local universities to drive programs that bring new workers into the healthcare system. With the U.S. projecting a physician shortage between 37,800 and 124,000 within the next twelve years, creating that pipeline is essential. Still, if the pay isn’t attractive enough, it will not incentivize the next generation of healthcare workers.

“That’s what we spend a lot of time on, here in my hospital, is making sure that we have the right people here, the appropriate number of people, and strive to pay them a wage that keeps them fulfilled, and keeps them coming back to work each and every day to care for our patients.”

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

digital freight invoicing
ODeX Is Leading the Charge in Digital Freight Invoicing
April 24, 2025

Global shipping continues to grapple with fragmented billing processes, often delaying cargo movement. According to McKinsey, adopting an electronic bill of lading could save $6.5 billion in direct costs and enable $40 billion in global trade. As vessels carry goods for thousands of shippers per voyage, the administrative burden of managing and reconciling invoices…

Read More
Human Intelligence Movement
Just Thinking… about Reimagining Education for the AI Era with the Human Intelligence Movement
April 24, 2025

As artificial intelligence reshapes education, work, and daily life, educators are grappling with how to prepare students for a future where human skills—not just knowledge—will be paramount. In fact, a growing number of reports highlight that employers increasingly value collaboration, communication, and emotional intelligence over memorized content. Amid this transformation, the Human Intelligence Movement…

Read More
The Value of a Restoration Team with Healthcare Experience
The Value of a Restoration Team with Healthcare Experience
April 24, 2025

In this episode of Inside Restoration & Recovery, host Martha Lewis welcomes Jason McClaren, Director of Facilities Operations at Reunion Rehabilitation Hospitals, to discuss the critical advantage of partnering with a restoration team experienced in healthcare. A former firefighter and military veteran, Jason has spent the last decade managing safety, risk, and emergency preparedness…

Read More
Science of reading
Educators Must Combine 1:1 Tutoring with the Science of Reading to Close the Reading Gap
April 23, 2025

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system faced a seismic shift. Learning loss, especially in foundational literacy, was a national crisis. In 2024, only 31% of fourth graders in the U.S. were reading proficiently, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Meanwhile, tutoring exploded as a top strategy to recover…

Read More