Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Hospital works to prepare for potential nurse shortage
By Sara Siekierski
Daily News staff writer
As the nursing population at Beloit Memorial Hospital ages, Nurse Recruiter Bonnie Scholko knows she'll have a big job of filling the vacancies.
Hospitals in every region of the Wisconsin are reporting workforce shortages - a situation that is expected to worsen over the next decade as the state's hospital population continues to grow, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. The growth in the health care workforce is lagging behind the demand for health care being driven by both the growth in and the aging of the population.
“At the moment, we're in relatively good shape,” Scholko said. “Out of our registered nurses, we have about a 1 percent vacancy rate, which is very good.”
Scholko attributes the low vacancy rate of nurses to a stable workforce in the Stateline Area. Not only are there are lot of registered nurses in the area, but many of the hospital's nurses and other employees go back to school through the tuition reimbursement program, Scholko said.
But Scholko realizes there will be a problem in the near future. Many of the people going to nursing school are in their 30s or older, meaning they won't be in the workforce as long as a twenty-something right out of college, Scholko said.
“The average age of our nurses is at least 50,” Scholko said. “The nurses are still working. They are not retiring at 55 anymore. We have several that are in their 60s. We absolutely know that it's a big concern. That is why we are working very hard to grow our own.”
Right now, the hospital doesn't have a lot of openings for registered nurses, but there is still a great need for nurses in specialty areas, including critical care and the emergency room. Most nurses are not hired directly into those areas and rather move up after they've had plenty of experience, Scholko said. That's not to say nurses can't be directly hired into specialty areas, but they must complete extensive training, Scholko added.
As the hospital completes its 31,000-square-foot ER expansion, quite a few more ER nurses will have to be hired, Scholko said.
“We are trying to gear up for that and get as many people with more advanced certifications,” she said. “It's very difficult to find experienced ER nurses and critical care nurses.”
In preparation, the hospital is looking into long-range planning and internal advancement. All open positions are posted internally for five days before they are released to the public, Scholko said.
“That contributes to them being happy as Beloit Memorial Hospital employees,” she said. “When they see a need or desire for new experiences, we encourage that.”
Hospitals are also reporting that the largest percentage of vacancies and the most difficult to fill are therapist positions. Education programs for these professions take quite a few years and often require a master's or doctoral degree where once they only required a bachelor's degree, said Human Resources Coordinator Ann Girolamo.
Also in high demand are experienced medical coders, who are in charge of taking physicians' documentation and coding them for insurance companies, Girolamo said.
“Those people are hard to find,” Girolamo said.
As they look to the future, Scholko and Girolamo have been working on ways to recruit new employees, especially in the nursing profession. As nursing programs grow, nurses interested in becoming instructors are encouraged to get their master's degrees in nursing.
Girolamo and Scholko hate to admit it, but they know the hospital's low vacancy rate for nurses will only last so long before the demand increases.
“We feel that we're doing everything we can to prepare for that,” Scholko said. “We try to make this a very good place for people to work, because the longer you can keep people working for you, the better it is for everybody.”
Hospitals in every region of the Wisconsin are reporting workforce shortages - a situation that is expected to worsen over the next decade as the state's hospital population continues to grow, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association. The growth in the health care workforce is lagging behind the demand for health care being driven by both the growth in and the aging of the population.
“At the moment, we're in relatively good shape,” Scholko said. “Out of our registered nurses, we have about a 1 percent vacancy rate, which is very good.”
Scholko attributes the low vacancy rate of nurses to a stable workforce in the Stateline Area. Not only are there are lot of registered nurses in the area, but many of the hospital's nurses and other employees go back to school through the tuition reimbursement program, Scholko said.
But Scholko realizes there will be a problem in the near future. Many of the people going to nursing school are in their 30s or older, meaning they won't be in the workforce as long as a twenty-something right out of college, Scholko said.
“The average age of our nurses is at least 50,” Scholko said. “The nurses are still working. They are not retiring at 55 anymore. We have several that are in their 60s. We absolutely know that it's a big concern. That is why we are working very hard to grow our own.”
Right now, the hospital doesn't have a lot of openings for registered nurses, but there is still a great need for nurses in specialty areas, including critical care and the emergency room. Most nurses are not hired directly into those areas and rather move up after they've had plenty of experience, Scholko said. That's not to say nurses can't be directly hired into specialty areas, but they must complete extensive training, Scholko added.
As the hospital completes its 31,000-square-foot ER expansion, quite a few more ER nurses will have to be hired, Scholko said.
“We are trying to gear up for that and get as many people with more advanced certifications,” she said. “It's very difficult to find experienced ER nurses and critical care nurses.”
In preparation, the hospital is looking into long-range planning and internal advancement. All open positions are posted internally for five days before they are released to the public, Scholko said.
“That contributes to them being happy as Beloit Memorial Hospital employees,” she said. “When they see a need or desire for new experiences, we encourage that.”
Hospitals are also reporting that the largest percentage of vacancies and the most difficult to fill are therapist positions. Education programs for these professions take quite a few years and often require a master's or doctoral degree where once they only required a bachelor's degree, said Human Resources Coordinator Ann Girolamo.
Also in high demand are experienced medical coders, who are in charge of taking physicians' documentation and coding them for insurance companies, Girolamo said.
“Those people are hard to find,” Girolamo said.
As they look to the future, Scholko and Girolamo have been working on ways to recruit new employees, especially in the nursing profession. As nursing programs grow, nurses interested in becoming instructors are encouraged to get their master's degrees in nursing.
Girolamo and Scholko hate to admit it, but they know the hospital's low vacancy rate for nurses will only last so long before the demand increases.
“We feel that we're doing everything we can to prepare for that,” Scholko said. “We try to make this a very good place for people to work, because the longer you can keep people working for you, the better it is for everybody.”
 |
 |
|
| School district closes in on cuts | Firefighters a class act |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of beloitdailynews.com.
Submit a Comment
Login below to post your comment. |
Not yet a member? Use the form below to register. |
