Hospitals in Rhode Island and nationally are facing unprecedented workforce shortages, according to a survey released June 5 by the American Hospital Association and the Hospital Association of Rhode Island.
Nationwide, hospitals have roughly 168,000 positions open — 75 percent of which are openings for registered nurses. A recent HARI survey of its 12 member hospitals reflects those findings, showing a severe shortage of specialty care nurses. Overall, Rhode Island has 400 vacant, budgeted RN positions, according to HARI.
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Aside from nurses, the most difficult positions to fill are pharmacists, radiological technologists and billing coders, according to the AHA.
Enrollment in schools of nursing and other health career programs has declined steadily while veteran nurses are retiring. The average age of a nurse in Rhode Island is 47, according to HARI. And the number of new nursing licenses issued has been declining.
In response to these growing workforce shortages, HARI officials say they have taken a leadership role in finding collaborative solutions. The HARI Health Partnership Council establishes educational standards for people pursuing health-care careers and strengthens ties between education and the industry.
Activities targeting middle- and high school students, as well as secondary educators, include health-care facility tours, job shadowing, field studies, internships, guest speakers and educator externships. The partnership council is financed by a grant from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training School-to Career Office.
HARI also supports Colleagues in Caring – Rhode Island, one of 37 regional sites in a national nursing workforce initiative devoted to the recruitment and retention of qualified nursing candidates. The Rhode Island group is one of only four Colleagues in Caring groups operating under the auspices of state hospital associations.
Both the Health Partnership Council and Colleagues in Caring group include members from the health-care industry, educational field and organized labor.
“Hospital caregivers are our hospitals’ greatest asset, and continued shortages threaten our ability to provide quality health care,” said HARI President Edward J. Quinlan. “Alternative career choices for young people, an aging workforce and declining insurer reimbursement have created this problem.
“Collaborative solutions are being pursued as the most effective means to stem an epidemic problem,” Quinlan said.
