Leadership | 10.11.21
Hospitals Are Spending More Money to Hire and Retain Health Care Workers During the Pandemic
by MarketWatch
Hospitals are facing increasingly dire staffing shortages made worse by the pandemic, and analysts are increasingly alarmed that such shortages could soon cut into hospital margins. There are numerous issues at play. Doctors and nurses have been in short supply in some parts of the U.S. for years. Many are burned out, and some are opting to retire or simply quit. The rise of the delta variant, meanwhile, resulted in a surge in hospitalizations that increased demand for nurses, in particular. To focus their resources on these patients, many hospitals have had to limit or altogether halt elective procedures that have long been key to their financial success. Finally, some workers have decided to quit or be fired instead of comply with COVID-19 vaccination mandates implemented by some health care organizations. Consequently, many hospitals now have to pay workers more, including hiring more expensive travel or temporary nurses. They're also spending more on benefits and other retention "perks."
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