It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic—and most recently the Delta variant—has caused an increase in staffing shortages in hospitals and healthcare organizations. The reasons vary, from burnout to fear and everything in between.
With the staffing shortages comes a growing pressure for hospitals to recruit quickly and efficiently. A new report from Moody’s Investor Service suggests the competition for labor will likely continue long after the pandemic due to the aging population combined with a retiring or burnt out workforce.
These long-term healthcare staffing challenges that the nation is facing are not new. Even before the pandemic, studies predicted physician staffing shortages pushing 140,000 by 2030. And the burnout affects other clinicians across the hospital, from nurses, respiratory therapists and technicians, to nonclinical workers, such as dietary and environmental services staff.
The staffing shortages have created other issues for hospitals due to the lack of recruitment and retention which has driven up wages, leading to a further decline in profit margins for hospitals. According to the report, growth in salaries and benefits has exceeded hospitals' expense growth, and this trend is expected to continue into 2022.
The report did suggest that enrollment for nursing students has increased, a bright side to the current shortages the industry is experiencing.
A statement from Moody’s Investors Service suggests "to sustain operations and meet increased demand for services, not-for-profit hospitals will need to commit more resources to fill labor shortages, leading to further margin pressure."
While filling labor shortages is a priority for hospitals, Hyr Medical is here to help. We understand the importance of physician quality and speed, and make it easy for hospitals to fill the needed gaps with vetted physicians.
Comments