Here are three things to know about the trend.
1. Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America is part of the trend. The hospital company said this week its hospitals were forced to hire more nurses from “contract labor” firms due to increased patient volume from the ACA and an improved economy, according to the report.
2. Specifically, HCA’s contract labor expense was up $55 million, or 36 percent, in the third quarter of 2015 compared to the third quarter of 2014. “We have seen growth throughout the year, but it did accelerate during this quarter. This increased use of contract labor is used to fill in for staff vacancies that occur because of higher turnover rates and needs we have to serve the increased volume,” HCA Executive Vice President and CFO William Rutherford told analysts this week, according to Forbes.
3. King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services has had a similar experience. According to the report, the hospital operator, which, like HCA, reported earnings last month, said its nurse labor costs have increased, but the need isn’t like it was 10 years ago during a severe nurse shortage. “I recall talking to our hospitals at the time and when we talked at that time about hiring and filling vacancies, the feedback you’d get from the hospitals was simply, you just couldn’t do it,” Steve Filton, CFO of UHS, told analysts in October, according to Forbes. “There just weren’t nurses out there. The current environment just doesn’t have the same feel to it.”
More articles on workforce and labor management:
Nurses allege staffing problems at University of New Mexico Hospital: 3 things to know
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5 hospitals, health systems engaged in serious hiring
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