HAP: Public policies needed to grow health care workforce

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) says public policies are needed to help health care systems fill their workforce needs. 

A HAP report released Tuesday shows Pennsylvania hospitals have reduced care team turnovers by 28% over the past year but continue to face challenges hiring direct care professionals. 

HAP said the health care workforce shortage in Pennsylvania and across the country was approaching a crisis even before the pandemic. 

An aging population means more health care professionals are retiring just as demand for care is increasing. 

In the report, HAP said there is not enough infrastructure in place to educate and train the next generation of workers. 

The report shows nearly all hospitals surveyed reported raising pay, offering flexible work schedules, and partnering with educators to develop the next generation of caregivers to address workforce shortages.  

Despite significant progress over 2022, hospitals continue to face challenges hiring direct care professionals, with statewide average vacancy rates exceeding 10% for most positions. Hospitals reported nearly 1 in 5 nursing support positions (19%) was vacant in late 2023 and close to 1 in 7 positions for direct care registered nurses (14%).  

Hospitals in rural communities reported even greater challenges with average vacancy rates of 28% for nursing support staff and 26% for registered nurses. 

Pennsylvania is expected to have the worst shortfall of registered nurses nationally by 2026 and the third-worst shortfalls of nursing support professionals and mental health providers, according to projections from Mercer. 

 “Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems are leading solutions to attract and keep the caregivers they need to serve their communities today and develop the workforce that will meet a growing need as the commonwealth ages,” said HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings. “We need comprehensive investments and public policies to build on this momentum and strengthen Pennsylvania’s health care workforce.” 

Some of the public policies HAP said will help grow the workforce include growing the number of nurse educators and training sites by allowing flexibility in educator credentialing requirements, offsetting the earnings disparity between nurses who practice and nurse educators, and investing in nurse preceptors and clinical space. 

HAP said it is also advocating for expanding student loan repayment for frontline nurses and primary care providers to keep them in the state and bringing to scale proven programs that grow the health care workforce through partnerships between health care, education, community organizations and the state. 

HAP said it also supports recruiting international professionals by increasing the number of J1 visas. 

During 2023, HAP, led by its Health Care Talent Task Force, developed comprehensive policy recommendations to serve as a roadmap for growing health care talent here. The roadmap builds on the task force’s initial recommendations issued in January 2020.