The Colorado Department of Human Services plans to give $14,000 sign-on bonuses for nurses hired to two psychiatric hospitals, the state said March 15.
Colorado lost 100,000 registered nurses from 2020 to 2021, and it expects a 10 percent demand increase for mental health nurses. Other than the sign-on bonus, the human services department said it can offer "generous state benefits."
The two hospitals are the Denver-based Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Fort Logan and the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo, NBC affiliate KUSA reported. The bonuses will be handed out in three payments to the first 1,000 new employees.