Missouri hospitals continue to struggle with attracting and retaining staff, with turnover and vacancy rates among nurses and other surveyed professions exceeding all survey years other than 2021, according to new research from the Missouri Hospital Association.
The research includes statewide data on 28 hospital-based staff categories and four clinic and physician practice positions.
In 2022, there was a nearly one-quarter turnover rate among all surveyed positions statewide, the report found. Rates for environmental services and dietary workers reached as high as 40 percent, while the turnover rate among staff nurses was nearly 20 percent. The nurse vacancy rate was 17.4 percent, a decrease from 19.8 percent in 2021 but a notable increase from 11 percent in 2019.
The Missouri Hospital Association attributes the workforce challenge to various factors, including caregivers being supplemented by agency staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the pipeline for new workers is currently insufficient to deliver the workforce of the future, hospitals statewide are "working to upskill employees and create career ladders that not only build the workforce, but support lives and families," the group said in a news release shared with Becker's.
The group noted that hospitals are also engaging with stakeholders — including but not limited to state government, academia and workforce development partners — to strengthen the system for attracting workers.