Community Builder
Leadership
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.”
Recent Posts
A Consultant’s Approach to Improving Patient Experience
Articles - Jan 11, 2023
A 2020 American Heart Association survey found that patients defined value as communication and trust in healthcare providers and not simply cost and services. Building trust and improving patient experience is something that healthcare organizations learned first-hand over the past three years through an unprecedented health crisis.
Bringing Medicines to Market Faster Through Analytics & Machine Learning
Articles - Sep 16, 2022
Traditional medicine isnt generally taken very seriously in the United States. However, Dr.
How Hospitals Can Conserve Energy and Reduce Strain on the Power Grid
Articles - Jul 27, 2022
As temperatures nationwide rise with the peak of summer heat hitting various states, the increase in energy use is causing strain on power grids.Of the most vulnerable states is Texas, as it recently faced a major threat when unexpected cold temperatures resulted in unusual and heightened energy use in February 2021.