Ingram's October 2022

even more significant—we have a much greater demand for registered nurses, par ticularly in the inpatient hospital setting, than we do a supply.” With nursing in particular, two factors emerged on the winds that brought the COVID-19 virus to America’s shores. “We are seeing our orientation full every week, and many of those new hires are registered nurses, but it isn’t enough,” Huenergardt says. “We still have a need for registered nurses across all depart ments. There are a few factors getting in the way—one being burnout impact ing experienced nurses and discouraging students from going into nursing roles. Another is pay—with travel-nursing op portunities and local competition for tal ent; we are paying significantly more for nursing positions than we were in 2019.” The latter issue, hospital executives say, is a human-capital challenge that poses long-term threats to carefully constructed cultures. If the urgent need for nurses— today—compels an organization to triple its historic rate card for those services, staff nurses who have fought the good fight might chafe at the inequities. Hospitals have rewarded their staff with significant raises, but not many have trebled down. “The nursing situation is a crisis now,” says Robert Simari, vice chancellor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. “The nursing shortage cannot be neutralized simply by training more nurses. There is not enough space or available faculty to meet the crisis. The nursing crisis must be met by focusing on the retention and health of current nurses

“Recruiting psychiatrists, endocrinologists and rheumatologists is a significant challenge for us. We are not alone in this challenge.”

— STEVE REINTJES, PRESIDENT/CEO NORTH KANSAS CITY HOSPITAL

in the field in addition to training as many nurses as we can.” SO . . . HOW TO FIX IT? For Keith Zimmerman, who moved to Kansas City over the summer to lead a marketing-leading operation with eight regional hospitals, “there is no simple or fast solution.” Compounding the challenge, he said, “much of Missouri and Kansas is designated a primary-care Health Professional Shortage Area by the federal government.”WhileHCAMidwest is not immune to this, he says, it is making progress in improving employee retention and gains in recruiting staff—an overall 20 percent decrease in employee turnover and a 20 increase in recruitment this year. How? With a multi-pronged approach that, on the physician side, Zimmerman says, “includes starting early, by partner ing with colleges, universities and high schools to teach, train and fund a pipe line of future workers, while exposing our youth to the vast array of health-care jobs available.” On the nursing side, Zim merman points to HCA Midwest Health’s long-term strategic partnership with Re search College of Nursing, which he says, “supports the region with a larger talent

pool of baccalaureate and master’s pre pared nurses, while also allowing students access to premier clinical experience.” Additional initiatives include enhanc ing scholarships for nursing students, increasing dedicated nursing education units across health-care facilities, and drawing students and clinical expertise from the HCA Healthcare organization. “By growing a pipeline of nurses, develop ing our workforce, and providing career ladder opportunities for advancement,” he said, “we are stabilizing the health care’s short- and long-term workforce.” As the daily census of patients with COVID-19 issues continues to ebb, chief nursing officer Rachel Pepper deals with the staffing aftermath for the University of Kansas Health System, which operates the biggest stand-alone medical center in the region. “We have seen some improvement in recent months,” Pepper says. “During the acute phase of the pandemic, people stepped away from the work setting for a variety of reasons—to take care of children or home needs, to perform in a traveling position, to take a break from health care, and other reasons. Some of these people are returning to work now.”

A CRISIS, BY THE NUMBERS Over a 10-year period, the 30 largest hospitals in the Kansas City region have seen patient admissions rise by nearly 25 percent—while at the same time, numbers of physicians and nurses have fallen sharply.

2012

2021

Change 24.74% -10.17% -17.50%

Admitted Patients Per Provider

2012 32.31 22.04

2021 44.84 33.33

Increase

Admissions Physicians

253,767

316,556

7,854

7,055 9,498

38.78% 51.22%

Nurses

11,514

Source: Ingram’s Top Area Hospitals and Medical Centers lists, 2012-2022.

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I n g r a m ’ s

Kansas City’s Business Media

October 2022