Houston Methodist is offering $15,000 sign-on bonuses to nurses and $15,000 referral bonuses for employees.
The health system, which comprises an academic medical center and six community hospitals, had offered $10,000 sign-on bonuses and $10,000 referral bonuses since 2015. But in April, the health system decided to increase the amounts to $15,000.
"We looked at the market and we saw for a while the $10,000 [sign-on bonus] and $10,000 [referral bonus] was competitive, but when looking at the [recent] market and what others are offering, we wanted to increase" the amounts, Tom Vernon, BSN, RN, vice president of talent and experience, told Becker's.
Hospitals and health systems across the U.S. are facing challenges filling vacancies — often because nurses have left the profession, retired or taken more lucrative traveling assignments — and many organizations are offering sign-on bonuses to attract nurses.
At Houston Methodist, nurses must have at least 18 months of experience to be eligible for the sign-on bonuses, which are paid out over two years. The referral bonuses are available to health system employees who refer a nurse who gets hired.
Houston Methodist has 26,000 employees, including about 6,500 registered nurses providing direct patient care.
As of June 25, the health system had about 700 nurse openings, including full-time, part-time and temporary jobs.