U.S. hospitals, especially facilities in rural areas, are struggling to compete with bonuses and other rewards offered to staff by competitors, Kaiser Health News reported Feb. 7.
The staffing strain affecting hospitals and health systems is well-known. Amid the strain, hospitals have taken several actions to fill workforce gaps and prevent workers from leaving.
For example, ThedaCare filed a lawsuit Jan. 20, which was later dropped, to keep seven interventional radiology and cardiovascular workers at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah (Wis.) from joining Ascension's St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wis. States and healthcare organizations have also made monetary investments to retain and recruit employees, including sign-on bonuses and raises.
Although larger organizations may have an easier time finding the resources to make these investments, rural hospitals are struggling to compete in the current labor market, according to the report.
Without necessary staffing, some hospitals may be forced to temporarily or permanently halt some services.
Joshua Gilmore, CEO of Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob, Mo., told Kaiser Health News that his 15-bed facility gave across-the-board raises to nurses and nursing assistants and is offering $10,000 sign-on bonuses to fill some nursing spots.
He said the expenses are significant for his facility, which would likely have closed without federal COVID-19 money. His organization has also lost workers who took more lucrative travel nursing jobs.
Andy Hedgpeth, vice president of human resources at Springfield, Mo.-based CoxHealth, told Kaiser Health News that the health system has made efforts to address staffing challenges, such as increasing the class size at the affiliated nursing school, but still spent $25.5 million in 2021 to give raises to employees to help retain them.
Smaller hospitals are not only competing with larger healthcare organizations and travel agencies — they are also competing with large retailers such as Walmart. Read more here.