Wisconsin continues to need more nurses and other health care professionals than currently working in the state, according to a report released Monday.
The workforce shortages that strained hospitals and other health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic have eased somewhat, but there are still pressing challenges that could cast a shadow for decades. , the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA), which prepared the report, said in its annual report. Projects for industry organizations.
“We have to grow our workforce faster,” Anne Zenk, WHA's senior vice president of workforce and clinical operations, told the Wisconsin Examiner. Without new policy interventions within the industry as well as outside the industry, “we will not be able to grow fast enough to keep up with the increase in healthcare demand.”
The “silver tsunami” will reach its peak in 2030, when the youngest of the aging baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, the report said. By then, one in five people nationwide will be over 65 years old. That's already happening in Wisconsin. One in four state residents will pass that age threshold by 2030, according to the report.
This consumer market bubble will affect every industry in some way, but in most economies it will be over in about 10 years. However, it is not for health management. “As life expectancy increases, the health care demands of the rapidly increasing number of retirees will continue to challenge hospitals and health systems for decades,” Zenk said.
Wisconsin's growing older population requires more demanding and complex health care, while some health care professions expect the majority of their employees to be over 55 and retire within the next 10 years. However, the number of young trainees joining or waiting in the field is decreasing. . According to the report, this could create a major shortage in hospitals in need of certified nurses, nurse anesthetists, respiratory therapists, medical records technicians, and laboratory technicians.
The report makes four broad recommendations for policy makers as well as educators, employers and health professionals. it is,
- Create, expand and support educational and professional pathways to attract new talent to the health professions.
- The report aims to reduce barriers to entry into the medical profession. The report calls for changes in regulations and payment practices on the part of government and private insurance plans, as well as efforts to reduce employee burnout.
- Change policies, provider standards, and payment practices “to help health care professionals and teams reach their full potential.”
- Transforming the way we use technology to help patients and healthcare professionals.
Zenk said he is encouraged by the creation of a task force created by Gov. Tony Evers and chaired by Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez, a career registered nurse, to address health care worker issues across the state. Stated. She says she “understands hospitals and health systems and knows what's needed, but she also knows that even the best intentions can have the wrong impact.” He emphasized that executives from the following countries are participating.
Some improvement, but more needed
This report is based on data collected through September 2022. By that point, the report said, the unfilled rate, which spiked during the first two years of the pandemic, had stabilized but remained extremely high in eight of the 18 occupations hospitals were hiring for. It has said.
This includes registered nurses (RNs), who make up more than half of all hospital staff. As of 2022, the year covered by the report, more than 10% of listed nurse positions in Wisconsin remain unfilled, and the hiring process for new nurses in the Midwest takes 100 days. It took more than that.
Zenk said in an interview that subsequent national data and information the WHA has received from member hospitals shows some improvement by 2023. Hospitals are becoming less reliant on staffing agencies for staffing, he said. Enrollment in professional schools and undergraduate programs for health professionals is beginning to increase.
Recruitment still takes time. “We still face a critical shortage of front-line technical jobs,” Zenk said. “The shortage of nurses still persists, but it has eased a little since 2020.”
Hospitals have relied on nursing homes to provide long-term care to patients who are ready to be discharged but not ready to go straight home.
But in Wisconsin, the number of available licensed nursing home beds has declined sharply over the past two years, from 46,000 in 2022 to 26,000 in 2024, according to the state health department. It is the floor. Meanwhile, the number of elderly, blind and disabled people receiving Medicaid — candidates for nursing home care — rose to 270,000 from 146,000 two years ago.
This has become a bottleneck, increasing the burden on medical personnel, who are too few in number. “We have over 300 to 450 patients in hospitals across the state waiting for post-acute care placement,” Zenk said. “That's a big deal.”
Zenk said the largest group of workers in nursing homes are certified nursing assistants (CNAs), and while hospitals are looking to expand their pool of certified nurses, nursing homes also need to expand their pool of CNAs. said.
There is also a shortage of primary care physicians and other health care providers, leaving some people without access to medical care when they need it, leading them to rely on hospital-based emergency and emergency medical services, Zenk said. he said.
Seeking a solution
To address this shortage of health workers, the report says, with support from government policymakers, schools and universities, employers and others, health systems and hospitals can encourage more people to join the workforce. This suggests that different approaches need to be taken to expand the pipeline. Profession.
That includes working more closely with schools to provide health professions opportunities for students even before they graduate high school. The Hospital Association and the Wisconsin Chapter of the Health Occupations Student Association of America (HOSA), a nonprofit organization for students interested in careers in the health care professions, have launched a social media project, “So Many,” to raise the profile of health care professionals. Options” was launched in February. .
The report also calls for expanding and reviewing specialized training. One example is a pilot registered nurse apprenticeship program approved by the state Department of Workforce Development in 2023.
“We need more nursing instructors, but we also need more flexibility in who can teach in the classroom.” [and] It’s clinical supervision for students,” Zenk said.
She cited the state's “Grow Your Own” program, first launched in 2011, as an example of success, awarding grants to support training programs for graduating medical students. The 2023-25 state budget expanded programs for allied health workers by $5 million.
To attract and retain more workers, the report encourages hospitals and healthcare employers to adapt to changing worker demands and standards.
The state's health system is already working to expand child care, transportation, housing and elder care resources in communities, the report said. The report urges medical professionals and educators, elected officials and others to collaborate on ways to “provide the flexibility, predictability, and time off that workers increasingly expect.” calling out.
The report also blames a variety of administrative burdens, including unspecified regulations and increased documentation requirements that require more information to be entered into electronic medical records, which are now standard in all medical settings. are doing. The report suggests that these are causing employee burnout and exacerbating labor shortages.
“There's no question that we want safe, high-quality care,” Zenk said, but argued that some regulations don't actually serve that purpose. “While the intentions are good, the impact on clinicians and patients is burdensome,” she says. “Reducing them reduces burnout.”
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