Hospital Association President: Missouris Health Care Staffing Shortages Will Improve
STREET. LOUIS -- A new report released this week shows that record turnover in healthcare jobs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic will not go away overnight. Industry experts say that while professional education and training programs are beginning to pay off, they are sometimes hampered by staff shortages.
According to a recent report from the Missouri Hospital Association, the statewide nursing job vacancy rate is 17%, down slightly from the historical rate of 20% a year ago.
That's especially important for a key category of support functions, including patient care technicians, certified nursing assistants and other unlicensed workers -- one in five jobs are open, according to the report. That is 23% less than a year ago.
Jon Doolittle, MHA's President and CEO, said in an interview that the industry has debated human resource issues for years and predicts that demand for care will increase as the US population ages and more healthcare workers retire.
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He said the industry has made real progress but its efforts have been nullified by the pandemic.
Hospitals are now stepping up recruitment. Some use ultra-flexible scheduling along the lines of the “temporary worker” model. Last month, the state Department of Health and Human Services issued an exemption that will relax training guidelines for nursing assistants in a bid to get more people into the job market. And some healthcare systems are now making greater efforts to encourage and train staff to take on new roles.
Lori Scheidt, executive director of the Missouri State Board of Nursing, says part of the problem is that most nursing programs don't enroll enough students to fill all the places because of a lack of faculty or positions. About 1,200 eligible students dropped out of their nursing programs last year, Scheidt said. But there is still progress: in 2011 there were almost 4,000.
Increase education and training efforts
At its mid-May meeting, the Nursing Committee approved three new online college nursing programs in the state. For example, a Missouri Western Governors University will offer online courses, have a lab in Kansas City, and connect students with clinical rotations in their home regions.
"I think it's going to be a good model for Missouri," Scheidt said. "Maybe you'll get some unconventional students, maybe people who want a second career."
Laurie Hawkins, senior wellness program manager at Workforce Solutions Group Community College St. Louis, leads a program that trains people to become patient care technicians.
Patient nurses and nursing assistants are often the first to interact with patients and spend most of their time at the bedside in many hospital departments. They answer the bell, draw blood, change bandages, and assist patients with their daily activities.
The St. John's Community College Louis program is 11 weeks: 7 weeks of classroom work followed by 4 weeks of clinical work. Some of the students already have jobs in health care institutions as housewives, ambulance drivers or nutritionists. However, most are new to the industry and come from retail or hospitality backgrounds.
Beth Camp, BJC manager of learning and organizational effectiveness, said the health system waives tuition for community college students in exchange for a commitment to work at BJC after the program. He also pays them by the hour while they are in training. Minimum wage at BJC is $15.
The healthcare system has similar programs for medical workers and technicians who sterilize surgical instruments. Camp said BJC is starting a new program to train pharmacy technicians at a university in southern Illinois.
Hospitals can provide such training themselves, Hawkins said. But it's difficult when they're understaffed.
Camp said Barnes-Jewish Hospital could accommodate five to seven people in a program if it had clinical and classroom training. If you rely on a community college for instruction, you may have programs with as many as two dozen students.
"It takes a special person"
A few weeks ago, while standing at a podium in front of a group of graduate students, Hawkins asked each of them to share what they liked and what they struggled with about their studies. The students wore purple, navy, and pink smocks, and some had just walked across town from the night shift at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Family and friends watched from their seats in the audience with bouquets of flowers and balloons.
The students talked about how difficult it was to work in such a fast-paced environment and to help patients in difficult times. Most said that what they liked best was spending time with patients.
Prior to the program, one graduate worked for a small home health care business. Others moved patients from one area of the hospital to another. Some said they plan to go to nursing school.
"It takes a special person to provide direct patient care," Hawkins said.
Despite the challenges facing the industry, Doolittle of the Missouri Hospital Association expects vacancy and turnover rates to continue to fall.
The MHA report calls for cultural changes such as more flexibility, more employee say in decision-making, regular and consistent compensation reviews and interviews.
Some of the solutions the industry is testing will provide immediate benefits, while others will take time because some jobs require years of training, Doolittle said.
"I want the hospital administration to see hope here and realize that while we still have a big hill to climb, there are things that are working," Doolittle said.
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