Assistance with housing is one way hospitals and health systems are attracting employees to their facilities and communities.
The goal is to encourage physicians to live in the area they work in, as is the case with Hutchinson Regional Medical Foundation's housing program, according to a July 31 news release from Hutchinson (Kan.) Regional Medical Center.
With a $750,000 budget for the program, the foundation aims to provide housing incentives to physicians, advanced practice providers and therapists to allow them to purchase a home in Reno County. This is in exchange for a "three-year commitment from the provider," the release said.
"The program offers us a unique way to assist in the growth of the healthcare system while simultaneously aiding in the physical and economic growth of our county," Bob Fee, former foundation board chairman, said in the release.
Other hospitals have provided employees apartments due to a shortage of affordable housing.
In 2023, Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth and Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, Colo., announced a nearly $30 million investment in employee housing. The 42-unit development is about a mile from Yampa Valley, and rent amounts are determined by the household's gross income, its size and the type of unit.