The first mission of hospitals is to take care of individuals. To meet that mission, hospitals want compassionate, educated, expert, and devoted professionals. In West Virginia, hospitals make use of greater than 49,000 compassionate caregivers, representing the most important section of well being care within the state. In reality, new knowledge from the Kaiser Household Basis exhibits that West Virginia employs the very best proportion of individuals in well being care in comparison with its complete workforce.
Our hospital employees are our most treasured useful resource. That is why to be taught extra about hospital employment in West Virginia, we just lately surveyed West Virginia hospitals to supply the WVHA Healthcare Workforce Report 2023. This can be a snapshot, an ongoing effort, to grasp the challenges and alternatives accessible to assist hospitals suppose exterior the field and act boldly to assist, retain and recruit employees. To view the total Report, go to: www.wvha.org
Some key findings:
– A number of converging components have created an ideal storm of situations that has exacerbated the scarcity of hospital employees. Elements akin to declining school enrollment nationally, rising burnout, an growing older workforce with fewer individuals coming into the final well being care fields, and COVID-19, illustrate that the scarcity is exhibiting no signal of abating. lower over time.
– West Virginia hospitals spend an estimated $97 million as a consequence of registered nurse openings alone. Nursing is the spine of medical care; This consists of licensed personnel: registered nurses and licensed sensible nurses, but in addition consists of unlicensed affected person care technicians, additionally known as nursing assistants, nursing technicians, and extra. This group has the very best turnover price of 42.9%. RNs are the most important workforce, however the mannequin of care is shifting to a extra team-based strategy, which implies demand for LPNs and different healthcare professionals is rising.
– Diagnostic imaging not solely aids in medical decision-making, but in addition supplies life-saving remedies. Imaging is usually ignored. It’s its personal allied well being occupation. The professionals run X-rays, CT scans, MRI machines, and help within the supply of medicines when radiation is required. Docs rely closely on the outcomes of those assessments to find out the plan of care.
– Medical laboratory professionals are important for hospitals to supply care. As much as 70% of physicians’ scientific choices are primarily based on the outcomes of medical laboratory assessments. Scientific resolution making is predicated on laboratory work. This occupation is scuffling with low class enrollment and lack of visibility.
– Whereas nursing is a important occupation, we should concentrate on supporting all healthcare personnel to guard entry to high-quality healthcare in West Virginia. Respiratory Remedy, for instance, is a important occupation. We noticed through the peak of COVID-19 how necessary it’s to have these ventilator-trained professionals, particularly in a state with excessive charges of continual obstructive pulmonary illness, smoking, and black lung.
Elevated workforce vacancies and turnover in hospitals can negatively influence high quality of care, affected person security, healthcare spending, affected person satisfaction, and worker engagement. Which means any risk to the steadiness of our workforce is a risk to our infrastructure. For instance, West Virginia hospitals are licensed for six,441 acute care beds, however right now can solely employees roughly four,800 beds, impacting well timed entry to care.
As we proceed to face these challenges, we applaud the West Virginia Legislature for persistently contemplating the myriad of well being care workforce points in its policymaking course of. We’re grateful to them and to the various stakeholders who’ve invested within the ongoing effort to handle present and anticipated challenges affecting the whole healthcare workforce. The WVHA additionally thanks Governor Justice and his administration for the second funding, one other $20 million, within the Nursing Workforce Enlargement Initiative, which initially launched in 2021 with an preliminary funding of $48 million.
This initiative started to aggressively tackle the nursing scarcity in West Virginia by way of a multi-pronged plan to draw, practice, and retain nurses in our state.
I’ve labored within the well being care discipline for over 25 years and have felt this to be a unprecedented privilege. There’s nothing easy or simple about being a caregiver, whether or not in a hospital or different setting. Work could be exhilarating and exhausting. Nevertheless, it’s at all times important. Thank a member of the hospital workforce or healthcare employee right now.
Recruiting and retaining our healthcare and hospital workforce shouldn’t be completely an area problem or downside with a fast repair. Reasonably, the trail to constructing the healthcare workforce requires continued funding and periodic, focused, and well timed recalibration. It requires innovation and collaboration in any respect ranges—native, state, and federal—with a concentrate on new strategic investments to recruit and retain all West Virginia well being professionals. We’re lucky that there’s a nice partnership between our federal legislators, the Governor, state legislative leaders, our schooling group, and our hospitals as we proceed to handle this ongoing problem.
Jim Kaufman is president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Affiliation, a statewide nonprofit group that represents hospitals and well being methods.
