Healthcare Labor Shortage Expected to Continue and Grow
(Edited from Becker’s Hospital Review story by Kelly Gooch, 10/12/2021, and Mercer news release 9/28/2021)
“Healthcare Has Lost Half a Million Workers Since 2020.”
That was the headline on an October 12 story in Becker’s Hospital Review highlighting recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on healthcare employment trends.
“Overall, employment in healthcare is down by 524,000 since February 2020, with nursing and residential care facilities representing about four-fifths of the losses,” Becker’s reported, based on the most recent US jobs report.
“Since mid-February 2020, nearly 1 in 5 healthcare workers, or 18 percent, have quit their jobs, according to poll results from Morning Consult, a global, privately held, data intelligence company…some workers have been fired or resigned over vaccination mandates.”
Conducted in September among 1,000 US healthcare workers, the poll also found that 12% of workers have been laid off or lost a job, while 19% who kept their jobs have considered leaving either the job or the healthcare industry.
Mercer Sees Shortage Broadening
Even before COVID-19, the US healthcare labor market faced challenges, with demand for healthcare professionals outpacing supply.
“The healthcare workforce is burned out following a nearly two-year face-off against COVID-19,” Mercer Healthcare Industry Leader John Derse said. “The demands placed on healthcare workers since the pandemic began have been unrelenting. Overall, this data shows there won’t be enough healthcare workers to fill demand in the near future, and we will all feel the impact.”
Released September 28, Mercer’s 2021 External Healthcare Labor Market Analysis identifies four trends affecting the US healthcare labor market over the next five to 10 years and suggests how the healthcare industry must prepare for the future.
- A shortage of lower-wage healthcare workers will affect access to home care
Currently about 9.7M work in critical, albeit lower-wage, healthcare occupations (e.g., medical assistants, home health aides, nursing assistants). Our aging population will increase demand for healthcare workers while many of them are leaving these jobs permanently. Mercer’s research shows more than 6.5M people will leave this critical workforce in the next few years. The result: a substantial shortage of workers in the next five years — the largest in New York and California, with each state projected to fall short by more than 500,000 workers by 2026. - Primary care will increasingly be provided by non-physicians
The primary care landscape will likely change over the next five years as 21% of family medicine, pediatric and OB/GYN, and other primary care physicians retire. Yet demand will grow by more than 4% over the same time period. The result: More physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs ) will provide primary care.
- More than half of US states will see significant nurse shortages, with surpluses developing in some parts of the South
Slightly more than 3M people work as registered nurses (RNs) in the US. Demand will grow by at least 5% over the next five years. More than half of US states will be unable to fill the demand for nursing talent, with nearly 1M workers expected to leave the profession permanently. States to experience the greatest shortages include Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. However, states like Georgia, South Carolina and Texas might build RN surpluses.
- A hiring rush for mental health providers will emerge by 2026
Demand for mental health workers will increase 10% by 2026. Meanwhile, 400,000 are projected to exit these jobs, leaving some 27 states unable to hire enough skilled and semi-skilled mental health workers. Mercer projects California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania will experience the largest shortages. Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Washington will build surpluses as more people migrate to these states, where mental health workers are leaving the field at a slower pace than those elsewhere.
“While hospitals and healthcare systems can’t control labor market forces, they can mitigate the impact with better workforce planning and more effective management of internal resources,” Derse said. He suggested applying strategies that can position employers for long-term success including transforming care models; rethinking compensation and benefits; and introducing more flexibility into staffing, development, and rewards. “(Also) Employers shouldn’t wait to transform their retention models to address workforce vulnerabilities created or exacerbated by the pandemic.”
All News Is Locums
National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations® (NALTO®) Announces New Board Members
(Edited from Cision news release,10/18/2021)
The National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations® (NALTO®) recently announced changes to its board of directors.
Jarin Dana, CFO of Fusion Healthcare Staffing, has been elected NALTO® vice president. Health Carousel Locum Network (“HCLN”) Senior Vice President James Chandler replaces Dana as the organization’s treasurer. Both officers will serve two-year terms while continuing to head NALTO®’s legislative committee.
“NALTO® is the most collaborative industry association I have ever seen, and I’m honored to play a part and serve in this new capacity,” Dana said. “I look forward to joining with locum tenens industry colleagues to take on key industry challenges in the coming years.”
Chandler observed, “NALTO®’s growing impact and reach are more evident now than ever before. I am humbled to serve in this new role and look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead!”
“I couldn’t be happier for both of these gentlemen. Jarin has served on the board with distinction for the last two years. He’s always willing to volunteer his time for the betterment of the industry,” NALTO® President Matt Young said.
“When the treasurer post opened up with Jarin’s move to VP, I could think of no better replacement than Jim Chandler,” Young continued. “As a certified financial planner, Jim brings many years of financial analysis — and after 15 years in the locum tenens industry, he knows it inside and out.”
NALTO® is the only professional association of temporary physician staffing firms committed to a code of ethics and to maintaining the highest industry standards.
Curative Talent Announces New Leadership In Clinical Healthcare Recruiting
(Edited from Tyler Morning Telegraph, 9/30/2021)
Curative Talent welcomes new leadership to its Clinical Search Unit, based in Dallas, Texas.
Curative hired consistently throughout the pandemic and continues to do so. This week the company also announced plans to relocate to a 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Irving, Texas.
Curative welcomed Jaeson Babb as clinical search president, along with Justin Ballinger and Reginald Stephens, who joined Mathew Long as clinical search senior vice presidents.
Curative CEO Jeff Bowling expects the three unique SVP experience sets, under Babb’s leadership, will help Curative build the industry’s best retained search program. “The physician recruiting industry desperately needs a fresh approach, and this new team can provide that,” Bowling said.
Babb led winning teams in retained, travel rehab and locum tenens healthcare for more than 15 years. “I look forward to helping the company reach its full potential,” Babb said. “I’m most excited about the ‘dream team’ we are building internally, and Jeff Bowling’s vision for what Curative can become.”
Having worked for Curative for four years, Long brings to his SVP role almost 25 years of sales and leadership experience in two very different industries. Ballinger has 14 years of clinical recruiting and leadership experience with The Medicus Firm. Stephens brings Curative the experience and drive of a professional athlete and Super Bowl champion, along with six years of clinical recruiting and leadership knowledge with The Delta Companies.
“Our advanced technology resources continue to drive Curative’s remarkable growth,” Bowling said. “We have proprietary tools no one else has because of our significant investment, and our horsepower in Silicon Valley. We continue to create a true advantage for our recruiting team and I couldn’t be happier with the direction we’re headed.”
Consilium Staffing Donates 1,564 Snack Bags To Vogel Alcove
(Edited from PRNewswire release, 9/29/2021)
Consilium Staffing has donated 1,564 snack bags (“bye-bye bags”) to Vogel Alcove, a nonprofit established to support children of Dallas-area homeless families. Through Consilium Cares, the firm’s dedicated philanthropic initiative, Consilium has broken the record for the highest one-time donation to date. The company almost doubled its 2020 donation of 858 bags delivered. The bags were filled with ready-to-eat, non-perishable snacks and drinks.
“As a company of 120 employees, the amount we donated this year equates to 13 bags per person,” explained Jennifer Pruitt, director of learning and development for Consilium. “This illustrates how much dedication and love was poured into the project by our team members.”
The Healthcare Staffing Story
AMN Healthcare Names New CFO
(Edited from SIA Daily News, 10/15/2021)
Healthcare staffing provider AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (NYSE: AMN) appointed Jeffrey Knudson as the company’s chief financial officer. He will join AMN’s leadership team on Nov. 2 and assume the responsibilities of CFO and chief accounting officer on Nov. 8.
Brian Scott, CFO since 2011, stepped down as CFO/CAO on Aug. 9 to pursue another opportunity. Christopher Schwartz, who has served as controller and interim principal financial officer since Scott’s departure, will resume his previous position as controller on Nov. 8.
Knudson comes to AMN Healthcare from home décor superstore At Home Group Inc., where he was CFO and executive VP, supply chain. Before his tenure with At Home, he served in several leadership positions at CVS Health and CVS Caremark Corp., including as senior VP of finance and retail controller for its $80 billion retail pharmacy segment. Before CVS, he was a key member of the treasury and mergers and acquisition leadership teams at L Brands and Express Scripts.
“Jeff brings very valuable healthcare and other sector expertise that will help our organization continue to build and execute on our mission and financial goals,” AMN Healthcare President and CEO Susan Salka said. “In addition to the proven, high caliber of expertise Jeff brings to AMN, we’re confident he is a perfect match for the values-based, highly engaged, fast-paced culture here.
CHG Healthcare Announces “Top Women in Healthcare Staffing” Award Winners
(Edited from Cision news release, 10/1/2021)
CHG Healthcare has announced the winners of its new “Top Women in Healthcare Staffing” award, honoring women leaders in healthcare staffing. The award’s purpose is to highlight healthcare recruiters’ important role in placing healthcare providers into critical clinical roles across the country.
This year’s honorees included:
- Marjorie Alexander-Vermeulen – managing director of physician recruitment with ChenMed
- Amy Burns – system manager of physician recruitment for Ascension St. Vincent’s
- Kim T. Collins – lead physician recruiter for Luminis Health Medical Group
- Melissa M. Love – vice president of professional staff services and the office of professional well-being for Ochsner Health
- Kristine A. Olson – senior director of physician and professional services for Essentia Health
- Amy Powell – director of provider recruitment and retention for Reid Health
- Aisha DeBerry – group director of physician and advanced provider recruitment for Bon Secours Mercy Health
- Tiffany C. Ellington – vice president of physician recruitment and retention for McLeod Health
- Sasha Randolph – recruitment and retention manager for rural Health Education Services at the University of Kansas Medical Center
- Christy Bray Ricks – AVP, provider recruitment for LifePoint Health
- Carey Goryl – CEO of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR)
- Laura Screeney – director of physician recruitment for New York-Presbyterian
- Lindsay Hamilton – system director, provider recruitment for Northern Light Health
- Kate M. Kaegi – senior leader of physician, provider and executive talent for SSM Health Dean Medical Group
- Nicole Kiser – locum tenens recruiter for Aspirus Health
- Jennifer Semling – manager of talent acquisition for Altru Health System
- Kayla Silver -physician recruiter for Monument Health
- Jennifer Waters-Plemon – physician and APC recruiter for Marshfield Clinic Health System
Learn more about the honorees on CHG’s blog.
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