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Hospitals work to keep pool of workersBy
Emily Mullen, Staff Writer
State and national trends in a shortage of health care workers have hit hospitals in the Blue Water Area Nursing, pharmacy and medical imaging departments are where the shortages are most critical. The severity of those shortages, however, varies. In St. Clair County, Port Huron Hospital has 11 fulltime openings in those departments, while St. John River District Hospital in East China Township has four full-time openings. Meanwhile, Mercy Hospital in Port Huron appears affected the least, with eight part-time openings. At Sanilac County's three hospitals, all openings are in nursing, according to officials. Sandusky's McKenzie Memorial Hospital has four openings, Marlette Community Hospital has two, and Deckerville Community Hospital has four part-time openings. Baby Boomers are retiring and fewer college students are pursuing careers in health care, said Doris Seidl, human resources coordinator at Port Huron Hospital. In response, local hospitals are offering scholarships to local residents pursuing health careers and cash incentives for employees who help to recruit new staff. The impact Port Huron Hospital has openings for five registered nurses, two pharmacists and four radiologic: technologists, who are responsible for general X-rays, Ms. Seidl said. Those three departments comprise nearly half of the hospital's workforce, or 500 employees of the 1,250-member staff. Hospitalwide, Port Huron received 1,600 job applications in 1998. The number dropped to 1,200 in 2000, Ms. Seidl said. "Fewer Applicants mean fewer qualified people to choose from," she said. "It’s hard enough to find people for a job as it is. Now it’ll take more of an effort to find the best-qualified candidate to fill these positions, and take even longer to fill them." Across town at Mercy Hospital, 4% of the total 900 positions are vacant. Among those are eight part-time nursing positions, said Rob Gunn, human resources director. Mercy has 10 pharmacists, including full- and part-time positions, 12 technologista and 214 nursing staff members. "We’re comfortable right now in terms of staff," Mr. Gunn said. "But that doesn’t mean we always will be." Mercy has become more active in recruiting by visiting college campuses and advertising in trade magazines, Mr Gunn said. Mercy is building a health center inFort Gratiot, scheduled to open in May. A full-time pharmacist already has been hired for the center. The hospital still needs to hire registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and medical transcriptionists. In all, Mr. Gunn said the center would provide 36 to 38 full-time jobs. The hospital already has received numerous applications for the jobs, he said. St. John River District Hospital has openings for one full-time pharmacist, two full-time technologists and one full-time nurse, said Debbie Staskiewicz, human resources assistant. The hospital has a staff off 400, which includes 150 nursing employees, four pharmacists and 22 radiologic technologists. The reason A Volunteer Hospitals of America study in January found the average age of a registered nurse is between 43 and 48. The number of nursing students has declined 4% to 5 % in the past three years, according to the study, resulting in a seemingly unmanageable shortage by the year 2020. A survey done in July by the same group showed 70% of hospitals short in pharmacists and more than 50% of technologists over the age of 40, with fewer graduates each year. "Within the past several years, college enrollment in nursing has dropped 5% each year," Ms. Seidl said. Because of advancements in technology, prospective employees also are leaning more toward higher-paying jobs in health care, she said. At Port Huron Hospital, for example, a pharmacists’s salary ranges between $52,0000 and $73,500 a year, while a registered nurse makes between $34,000 and $50,000 a year, and an imagin technologist earns between $30,000 and $39,000 a year. These salaries will increase as the demand to fill these positions increases, Ms. Seidl said. The response Local hospitals are depending on employee referral programs to attract recruits to the fields of nursing, medical imaging and pharmacy. Ms. Seidl said Port Huron Hospital’s "Recruit a Friend" program was started about seven years ago to combat decreasing numbers in staff. The initiative pays employees who recruit a friend a bonus, which varies based on the department where the friend is hired into. The hospital has paid employees a total of $150,000 through the program. Mercy Hospital also has an employee referral system, as well as actively participates on campus job fairs throughout the state. The St. John Health Care System, of which River District hospital is a part, also has an employee referral program. In addition, the Port Huron Hospital Foundation will offer in March 20 to 25 $1,000 scholarships to students who want to study nursing, physical therapy, medical imaging or pharmacy.
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