HJAR Mar/Apr 2023

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAR / APR 2023 13 Small, rural hospitals may now convert to this designation, which will allow an alter- native to hospitals that have been strug- gling with maintaining their current model of care. An REH will not be able to provide inpatient care but will be able to serve their communities by providing outpatient and emergency department services and helping patients connect with higher level services when needed. By converting to REHs, these hospitals will receive enhanced payments that will hopefully ensure their survival. Workforce Healthcare was already experiencing a workforce shortage prior to the pandemic, but the last couple of years have greatly intensified the pressure of this shortage. Many nurses have retired, moved on to non-bedside care, or changed professions altogether. Some nurses have embraced the flexibility and profitability of the travel nurse industry, which has contributed to increased costs for hospitals. The workforce shortage has raised the bar on expenses, and they will not be going down any time soon. To provide our policymakers with mean- ingful data to represent how dire the work- force situation will become if no interven- tion is made, the AHA commissioned a report by Global Data. You can access the full Global Data report online at https://www. arkhospitals.org/images/webdocs/Arkansas WorkforceReport-January2023.pdf. The report reveals that the shortage of health- care workers in many specialties is antici- pated to continue or worsen over time, as increasing needs continue to exceed the supply of professionals. The current short- fall of 9,000 registered nurses in Arkansas will not be resolved by 2035 without inter- vention, and the licensed practical nurse (LPN) workforce would need to grow by an additional 55 full-time LPN employees per year above the anticipated status quo growth to maintain current Arkansas use patterns. By 2035, there will be a shortfall of approximately 240 to 580 respiratory therapists to meet the projected demand. Other specialties showing shortfalls include physician assistants, phlebotomists, clinical “The current shortfall of 9,000 registered nurses in Arkansas will not be resolved by 2035 without intervention, and the licensed practical nurse (LPN) workforce would need to grow by an additional 55 full-time LPN employees per year above the anticipated status quo growth to maintain current Arkansas use patterns.”