Rocky Mount, N.C.-based Nash UNC Health Care plans to raise compensation for nurses within the next month to keep them from leaving for higher-paying jobs in different counties, according to the Rocky Mount Telegram.
The hospital lost roughly 10 percent of its nurses to Wake County, a county roughly 65 miles away with more than double the population, in 2017. The top reason nurses cited for leaving was higher pay, according to Ian Buchanan, MD, Nash UNC Health Care's interim CEO.
"[A]s it turns out we've fallen pretty significantly behind the market rate for nursing pay," Dr. Buchanan told The Rocky Mount Telegram. "We're going to continue to be very challenged unless and until we make adjustments to that nursing compensation… If we don't continue to invest in people, we're going to get even further behind the eight ball."
Dr. Buchanan expects to present a compensation adjustment proposal in the next month, which will require the board's approval.