Chief Healthcare Executive’s Post

Becker's latest report highlights key trends impacting hospitals nationwide, and one thing is clear: labor costs are climbing, and the complexity of managing healthcare workforces is increasing. With staff shortages, inflation, and policy changes driving costs up, nonprofit hospitals are spending 53% of their budgets on salaries and benefits. The impact is especially apparent in regions like the Northwest, where competition for talent and bed shortages are hitting hard. 📍 Key Areas Impacted by Shortages: Rising Wages: In states like Oregon and Washington, competition for nurses is driving wages far above the national average. Bed Shortages: Hospitals in regions with fewer beds face added pressure to staff appropriately. Cost of Living & Policy: As living costs rise hospitals are facing new financial pressures. These trends aren’t isolated challenges—they reflect a broader shift in how health organizations need to think about workforce strategy. It’s no longer enough to simply respond to shortages or wage pressures as they arise. Instead, the key for leadership will be to anticipate these trends, adapt proactively, and build more resilient systems that can handle both short-term fluctuations and long-term shifts. At Staffency, we believe the future of healthcare staffing will require a deeper integration of data, flexibility, and strategic foresight. By taking a long view and focusing on adaptability, hospitals can better manage these challenges while staying aligned with their operational and patient care goals. Source: https://lnkd.in/gFvgkucS

Staffing shortages are pushing long-term care facilities to limit admissions and turn to agency hires, reports Fierce Healthcare. This article provides a deep dive into the ongoing staffing crisis impacting patient care and explores the financial and operational consequences of these shortages. It also examines the role of agency staff in maintaining care levels during these challenging times. Read the full story at: https://lnkd.in/gtbrrnEj

Staffing shortages are pushing long-term care facilities to limit admissions and turn to agency hires, reports Fierce Healthcare. This article provides a deep dive into the ongoing staffing crisis impacting patient care and explores the financial and operational consequences of these shortages. It also examines the role of agency staff in maintaining care levels during these challenging times. Read the full story at: https://lnkd.in/g3dg3-g3

Hospitals are finally emerging from the pandemic’s lingering disruption to labor markets, adding nurses and other critical workers who left the market or job hopped for higher pay. HCA Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare, two of the nation’s largest hospital and surgery-center companies, reported that their hospitals are busy and are expected to stay that way through the year. Hiring has opened up services they had closed because of the pandemic and a tight labor market, company executives say. Hospitals in recent years have struggled to recruit and keep staff, forcing some to scale back services or close units. Now, employment gains are opening up much needed capacity to meet demand where aging and growing populations have created long waits for treatment and backlogs in emergency rooms. Hiring remains strong across clinics, hospitals, and surgery and imaging centers in a cooling labor market. Hospitals added 89,700 jobs this year through May, with an average monthly hospital employment growth of 3.6% in the first five months of the year, the fastest pace since 1990. 🔗 Read more from Melanie Evans: https://lnkd.in/gVB7E42y 

Well there you have it folks. The apparently untouchable front-line services are certainly vulnerable to economic austerity. What was campaigned on by National was that front-line services would not be affected. Spending cuts would be targeted at ‘back office’ jobs, many of which actually free up ‘frontline’ workers to do their job instead of scheduling clinics, surgeries and rosters. So if staff are sick, it’s tough luck, there’s no back up for us. Who even cares about the patients who will undoubtedly receive poorer care from more stretched staff. It’ll be interesting to see how we will manage staff with significant leave annual leave balances. Most of these people have tried desperately to get leave but the roster is so short that they can never get leave. The hospitals are heavily reliant on the goodwill of the current employees and those who are able to cover shifts on a casual basis. I’d be interested to see what happens to staffing after this ‘review’ seeing as I’m sure Australia would like to take more of our healthcare staff. #health #publichealth #aotearoa #newzealand #nzpol #policy #politics #doctor

Increased labor costs in the last few years continue to pressure hospitals financially. Three quick findings from the Fitch report paint a stark picture: 1. The 9.6% job openings rate is double the average from 2010 to 2019. 2. Year-over-year wage growth has stayed above the 10-year average before 2020. 3. Some hospitals have seen as high as 60% labor expense growth. How has this impacted your team?

“Demoralized doctors and nurses are leaving the field, hospitals are sounding the alarm about workforce shortages and employees are increasingly unionizing and even going on strike in high-profile disputes with their employers.”   Read on for more from Axios on how understaffing, administrative burdens and inadequate wages are eating away at the healthcare workforce. https://lnkd.in/eCxr536j   #Healthcare #HealthcareWorkers #HealthcareIndustry

🔮 Looking into my crystal ball I see the headlines of 2028.... 🚨 Staffing cuts set stage for healthcare havoc! Over the weekend I had some discussions with friends working in the nursing field about the recent government decision to reduce staffing requirements, and I'd like to share a few thoughts by one of the nurses I spoke to. 🔍 TLDR: Government has decided to lower the staffing ratio in round-the-clock care settings, such as elderly care homes, from 0.656 to 0.6 per patient. While the decision will provide a sigh of relief for healthcare companies and well-being areas by easing the pressure to recruit sufficient staff, the response from the nurses working in these facilities has been quite different. One of utter disbelief... 😶 Nurses, who already feel understaffed and overworked, are now facing further workforce reductions. Ironically, just when we started seeing the situation improve, with more nurses entering and staying in the healthcare sector, the risk of increased burnout looms larger due to heavier workloads. In an ideal world, the need for healthcare staffing agencies such as the one I work in would not exist, with plenty of individuals eager to work in sectors like elderly care. This is in fact the goal we are working towards. However, achieving this ideal by cutting staffing ratios feels so incredibly wrong. Reducing standards doesn't solve the underlying issues, it merely shifts the goalposts! I can already see the headlines and the issues we will face in a few years. A staffing shortage even worse than the one we have now. Short term savings at the cost of a long term staffing disaster. 📉 #Finland #HoitajaMitoitus #Staffing #Politics #Mondaythoughts #SOTE

The national average salary for Primary Care Physicians stands at $260,000. While some regions offer higher wages, remember to factor in the cost of living when choosing your next practice location. Dive into wage insights, trends, and key considerations for your next physician opportunity. https://lnkd.in/dBS53EP8 #Physician #PrimaryCare #SalaryTrends #Healthcarejobs #DirectShifts

Are you thinking about going locum? We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you. Within our blog, we’ve covered: ➡️ Where can you work as a locum? ➡️ How long do locum placements last? ➡️ Why are locums needed? ➡️ What are the benefits of locum work? Find out all the answers by clicking on the link below: https://bit.ly/44YRNBl #locum #locumwork #locumlife #healthcare