Written by Bryan Sisk, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive and Lori Knowles, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
What if no one applies?
Coming Up Short
Talent shortages present a challenge to every industry, and health care is no exception. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, Texas currently needs approximately 30,000 additional nurses, a shortfall that’s projected to more than double in the next 10 years. The scarcity is particularly challenging for hospitals, which employ 65% of RNs today and are forecast to need half of the projected demand during the coming decade.
The Texas Department of State Health Services estimates that in the Gulf Coast region, the supply of nurses is 14% below the current level of need. That deficit could widen to 22% during the next 10 years.
What’s happening? More RNs are leaving the workforce due to factors ranging from burnout to retirement. At the same time, fewer people are entering the profession, partly because of limited education opportunities. According to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, approximately 91,900 applicants for BSN programs are turned away each year, primarily due to a lack of faculty and clinical placements.
These talent gaps have a range of negative impacts on the health care industry, including higher employee turnover, decreased employee engagement, burnout, compassion fatigue and increased stress among current staff, plus additional labor expenses for contract labor and a higher potential for employee injuries. The shortage affects patients too: longer wait times, lower patient satisfaction and a higher risk of safety events.
Our vision is to create healthier communities now and for generations to come, and to accomplish this goal, we have made deep investments in staff development, support and retention, as well as increased our focus on employee health and wellness — physical, mental and financial.
Grow, Reimagine, Excel
Memorial Hermann Health System, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the southeastern U.S., stands among health care leaders in initiatives to address the nursing shortage. Our vision is to create healthier communities now and for generations to come, and to accomplish this goal, we have made deep investments in staff development, support and retention, as well as increased our focus on employee health and wellness — physical, mental and financial.
One of our most significant efforts to reach our vision is the launch of the Memorial Hermann Institute for Nursing Excellence. The Institute will help us create an innovative health care environment that will attract and retain top talent, reimagine care at the bedside and ensure that we excel in nursing for generations to come.
Launched in 2022 with a $2 million gift to the Memorial Hermann Foundation, the Institute is a substantial investment in our people. Its goals are to:
- Strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce,
- Elevate the nursing profession and nurses’ professional practice as part of our interdisciplinary care team,
- Instill a culture of evidence-based practice and research,
- Cultivate innovation and accelerate movement of best practices to the bedside, and
- Excel in clinical and operational outcomes.
Breaking Down Barriers
A significant part of the solution to the nursing shortage is to reduce barriers to health care as a career and to remove barriers for our employees and the community to obtain advanced education and higher-paying careers.
With that goal in mind, the Institute and Memorial Hermann campuses throughout Greater Houston are forming strategic partnerships with area school districts, colleges and universities to create programs tailored to community and individual needs.
In the Institute’s first year, it has:
- Participated in the Health Management Academy’s invitation-only Nursing Catalyst Program, a collaboration among leading U.S. health care systems on retention innovations.
- Created an over 44,000-square-foot training and innovation space that provides facilities for classroom education, hands-on training, concept testing, simulations and workflow streamlining. Additional equipment and technology are included in a comprehensive $25 million capital campaign underway by the Memorial Hermann Foundation.
- Tested new models of care to aid retention and mitigate burnout.
- Conducted pilots of telenursing, a strategy that reduces nurses’ workloads while providing safe, efficient and personalized care.
- Piloted innovations and new technologies that enhance patient safety.
- Established a governance structure to ensure that nurses’ voices are heard.
- Strengthened partnerships with educational institutions throughout Houston.
According to a national nursing diversity report commissioned by Memorial Hermann, our professional nursing staff of 14,000-plus already reflects greater diversity than the city, state and nation. Our goal is for our workforce to reflect the population in every part of the city that we serve, and to ensure that every member of our community has the opportunity to live healthy, fulfilling lives.
Final Thoughts
A significant part of the solution to the nursing shortage is to reduce barriers to health care as a career and to remove obstacles for our employees and the community in obtaining advanced education and higher-paying careers. One the steps we’ve taken is to launch the Memorial Hermann Institute for Nursing Excellence, which will help us attract and retain top talent, reimagine care at the bedside and ensure that we excel in nursing for generations to come.
About the Authors
This article was originally published in Houston Business Journal in November 2023.