HJAR Jan/Feb 2021

HOSPITAL HEALTH FORCE 12 JAN / FEB 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   were exacerbated by the pandemic. We have implemented both short-term and long-term staffing plans to ensure we can continue to provide the necessary patient care now and have a plan for how to have workforce planning in this demographic in the future. CARRAWAY Respiratory Therapists – His- tory tells us these students tend to go to work near where they completed school. The closest college/university with a respi- ratory therapy program is 70 miles away from our hospital. LPNs and RNs – These careers tend to frequently be in demand across our region. While, at times, we have difficulty filling openings, our larger challenge is retention. Temporary incentive programs within the industry may attract some nurses adding to the retention challenge. Editor Do you feel filling positions has become more difficult recently and why? FORREST Being called to our healing minis- try is important. Therefore, we try to recruit those who are connected to our mission and values. As a result, we are blessed to have employees who truly feel called to provide this care in our organization. Our challenge is to ensure that we are caring for our healthcare heroes. We have spent time making action plans based on our recent Engagement Survey to identify their needs. We also ask for feedback, pro- vide regular updates on a variety of issues and ensure that there is a clear line of com- munication. It is our goal to care for those who are part of our ministry. Part of that focus is onmaintaining coverage as employ- ees may be required to self-quarantine due to possible community exposures. That calls us to not only check on our employees who are out, but also ensure that the people who are providing support in those positions are Arkansas, which requires a higher demand of skills to support such platforms. What has changed is our ability to predict the impact of COVID-19 on our teams. If an employee has to self-quarantine due to a possible community exposure, then iden- tifying someone with the same skillset and experience to temporarily fill that role is a challenge. Our healthcare workers are focused on caring for patients with varying needs and illnesses. Our healthcare support teams, including Human Resources, are focused on ensuring that our people are being pro- vided care. That includes identifying talent to fill temporary and permanent open roles, develop and provide resources that address wellness, stress and other related material, in addition to the normal day-to-day part- nership that we provide to help support and retain our staff. Our key focus is caring for our people. MOFFETT Healthcare has faced tremen- dous economic hardships in the past 10 years. Without comprehensive and cre- ative hiring strategies, it would be most dif- ficult to fill staffing needs. 2020 has proven to be the most challenging year for many Human Resource managers. The almost overwhelming strain on the healthcare system has exposed the shortages of pro- fessionals in the fields of nursing, labora- tory technology, radiology and respiratory therapy. In addition, the influx of contractual agencies in the aforementioned fields has made it nearly impossible for rural hospi- tals to competitively compete for perma- nent placement employees. LOMBARD-SIMS We are experiencing the most difficulty in filling nursing positions. Before the pandemic, there was an esti- mated shortage of between 154,000 to 194,000 nurses nationwide. As such, nurs- ing shortages were also a struggle and feeling supported. Additionally, we are watching the work- force change across the U.S. related to COVID-19. We are seeing an increase in retirement of healthcare workers and many leaving the workforce due to family obli- gations related to COVID-19. Additionally, there have been articles for years regard- ing the lack of people going into healthcare fields. Therefore, we are constantly evaluat- ing our approach on our long-term plan if this impact is felt in Arkansas. MOFFETT Filling positions has become more difficult. With strain on every area of hos- pital care, professionals have become dif- ficult to find. LOMBARD-SIMS Yes, as stated previously, filling nursing roles has become increas- ingly difficult. In addition, positions such as patient care techs, scrub techs, triage workers and EVS workers have been more difficult as the increase in demand for such roles continues to increase. UAMS imple- mented a raise to the living wage last year that has helped us in our efforts of recruit- ing and retaining talent, but we are finding that during the pandemic, we are competing with companies outside of healthcare that were not competitors prior to the pandemic. Editor Has COVID-19 shifted the focus of the HR department? If so, how? FORREST HR cares for those who care for others. CHI St. Vincent is a large and complex organization. Our focus has not changed, because our focus is our peo- ple. We are constantly evaluating our approaches and remain agile to respond to the needs of our organization. We continue to focus on the recruitment of those who feel called to our ministry, providing sup- port of the whole person and their growth and providing thought-partnership and