Health care leaders, Magaziner address workforce shortages

REP. SETH MAGAZINER is introducing his first legislation, "Health care Worker Retention Act,” which will provide health care workers with a series of refundable tax credits to help retain and attract talent in the sector. He discussed the new bill at a roundtable with local health care leaders, including Morgan Leonard, director of clinic operations at Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic (left). / COURTESY OF SETH MAGAZINER OFFICE

WARWICK – Drastic workforce shortages are rippling through every area of the health care sector and continuing to impact patient care across the state, said state health leaders on Wednesday.

From hospitals and community health centers to schools and nursing homes, every health care setting is struggling with staffing shortages, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is causing delays in patient care and overburdening current health care staff, creating a crisis that requires both short-term and long-term solutions, said a group of health care leaders gathered at a roundtable with U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.

“We are seeing shortages across the spectrum, whether we are talking about clinical or nonclinical staff, hospital staff, community professionals, nurses, security,” said Lisa Tomasso, senior vice president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. “The health care system is a very delicate continuum that is dependent on all of its parts to be functioning at its highest. This health care workforce shortage is really having the most significant impact because it’s not just in one area that we’re seeing the shortage, it’s everywhere.”

Tomasso was joined at the roundtable by Linda Mendonca, president of the National Association of School Nurses, Jesse Martin, executive vice president of SEIU 1199, Donna Policastro, executive director of the Rhode Island State Nurses Association, and Morgan Leonard, director of clinic operations at Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic.

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The leaders agreed: every area of health care is feeling the impact of the shortage. Numbers speak for themselves: Between 2020 and 2022, Rhode Island has lost 20% of its health care workforce, said Magaziner.

“The burnout is real,” Magaziner said. “People are quitting jobs that they love because they’ve worked themselves to the bone and are stressed and exhausted.”

Leonard said the Esperanza Clinic has experienced a 150% increase in operations since the inset of the pandemic, but it routinely fails to retain 50% of new recruits, whether they are nurses, physician assistants, practitioners or community health services.

“Losing staff leads to a gap in patient care and that’s who hurts the most, people who are already in vulnerable and marginalized communities,” Leonard said.

In schools, only about 65% of urban and suburban schools have a school nurse, said Mendonca, adding this is not a new shortage, often driven by lack of funding, but it has worsened in recent years, with mass resignations and retirements.

“It’s very concerning to know that across the country there aren’t nurses in every school,” Mendonca said.

It’s not just school nurses that are leaving their jobs. In 2020 and 2021, the state lost 6,500 registered nurses who did not refile for their licenses, said Policastro.

“We have to retain and we have to recruit. They go hand in hand,” she said. “While COVID was certainly detrimental to how many nurses we had, it also forced us to have these conversations and evolve, moving forward. How can we create a bigger and better workforce?”

All the health care leaders agreed that shortages in one sector create a domino effect into other areas.

“It’s harder for hospitals to discharge patients into other settings when those other settings are also experiencing staffing shortages,” Magaziner said. “You have to keep people in longer, which exacerbates the overcrowding inside the hospital. So it’s all connected and it compounds.”

Staff shortages not only creates longer wait times in hospitals, but it also puts a strain on the current workforce, often impacting their mental health. To address the issue, Magaziner is proposing a new legislation—his first as a member of Congress.

The “Health care Worker Retention Act” will provide a series of refundable tax credits totaling $2,000 over two years to health care workers working at least 20 hours a week and with an annual salary of less than $100,000. The credits will be distributed in payments of $500 every six months. The credit will be available to workers in any health care setting, including both state-funded and private organizations.

“I view this bill as the very first step in a long-term effort to address the structural issues about the health care workforce,” Magaziner said.

Health care leaders Wednesday showed their support for the legislation, hopeful it will bring more attention to the issue and incentivize recruitment.

“The Congressman’s leadership on this topic is a reflection of his deep understanding of the experience of health care workers,” said Martin. “As a Union that represents health care workers in home care, hospitals, nursing homes and many other settings. This bill recognizes all of them for their sacrifice during this pandemic and helps to stabilize their staffing conditions.”

The goal of this bill is to incentivize hiring, improve retention and attract talent in the health care field. It is expected to affect 70,000 Rhode Islanders and 18 million Americans. The legislation, expected to cost approximately $12 billion, would be funded through the federal budget, Magaziner said.

“There are other industries that are struggling with workforce shortages too, but because of the impact on patient outcome, not just in hospitals but in nursing homes, at home, the impact on health outcome is sobering,” Magaziner said. “Thays why I decided to have this be the first issue I focus on.”

Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.

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