There are an estimated 2,894 job vacancies in the health care industry statewide,
and more than half of them are in three occupations – registered nurses; nursing
aides, orderlies and attendants; and personal and home care aides.
The job openings represent a 4.1 percent job vacancy rate for the industry.
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The results of the first industry-specific survey from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training stresses the demand for health care professionals, industry experts said. The department conducted the survey in spring 2004 and released it in late August.
“We did a job vacancy survey for the first time last year and we had a very strong response from the health care industry for that kind of data specific to their industry,” said Nick Ucci, principal research analyst for the DLT. “This is the type of information they need to make personnel decisions and determine where the demand is.”
Health care and social assistance professions totaled 70,053 in 2003, accounting for 17.2 percent of the state’s private sector employment, and by far the largest employer in Rhode Island, above manufacturing, with 58,410 jobs and retail, with 53,064 jobs. Since 2001, more than 3,600 health care and related jobs have been added to the local economy, the most by any industry sector, according to the DLT.
According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of total vacancies were permanent jobs – 96.1 percent – while the rest were temporary or seasonal positions. Slightly more than half – 50.2 percent – of the reported vacancies were part-time positions.
As part of the survey, respondents were asked to note the duration of a job remaining unfilled. The length of vacancy can serve as an indicator of work force shortages as a result of a growing economy or lack of willing applicants, high turnover rates or a small pool of qualified candidates because of job and education requirements, the survey said.
The survey said that the majority of the positions are constantly recruiting or always hiring, 38.6 percent, followed by jobs that are vacant for less than 30 days, 28 percent.
“This shows a national trend,” Ucci said. “The population is getting older and there is more strain on these services.”
This is “absolutely” in line with what those in the industry are experiencing, said Ruth Ricciarelli, director of work force development for the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. “And this probably only touches the surface. We recognized this back in 1999. We can’t inform people enough about the shortage of nurses.”
There were six years of declining enrollment in nursing programs in Rhode Island prior to 2002, Ricciarelli said, and it has been just recently that young people are getting interested again in the field.
“Now what we have is a problem with is capacity, now that we’ve gotten them all fired up about it, and they want to get into nursing school,” she said. The University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island are all adding faculty and classes to address that, but Ricciarelli said there is a long road ahead to fill the vacancies.
Within the industry, home health care services had the highest vacancy of 14.8 percent, followed by residential mental retardation facilities with 8.1 percent and offices of mental health practitioners with 8 percent. Ricciarelli said that home health is associated with CNAs (certified nurse’s assistant), where retention is a problem.
“The money’s not there to attract them or keep them,” she said. Only in the last few years has the industry seen pay rise to $11 an hour. And for many, transportation to go from home to home might be a problem. “If you don’t have transportation then you can’t do it.”
Slightly more than 40 percent of the positions in the health care and social assistance industry require at least a high school diploma or GED, and 22 percent require an associate’s degree. Only 10.7 percent of the vacancies require a bachelor’s degree, and a slim 3.8 percent require an advanced degree, the survey said. The average hourly wage for all of these vacancies is $11.
Benefits were also common among the reported vacancies, with most jobs including paid vacation (75.4 percent), paid sick leave (70 percent), health insurance (66.9 percent), and retirement savings and pension plans (60.6 percent).
Even with schools attempting to fill the void, Ricciarelli said the shortage of health care professionals isn’t likely to end in the near future.
“I don’t foresee a change any time soon,” she said, adding that not only must the vacancies be filled, but also the spaces left by retiring professionals. “It’s hard to sell that by working with high school students we’re going to solve the problem because the result is so long term, but robbing Peter to pay Paul (by offering bonuses and other incentives) is not working. We can’t put a Band-Aid on it.”
Laura Ricketson can be reached via e-mail at ricketson@pbn.com.
