Without addressing the widespread staffing shortage, hospitals will continue to face capacity challenges and overpay for labor, which will lead to fiscal instability, according to a survey published Oct. 31 by the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association.
The MHA has urged providers, payers, public officials and government agencies to collaborate on five key areas to address the workforce crisis:
1. Advancing new models of care
- Maintaining the public health emergency flexibilities that were implemented throughout the pandemic and enabled effective licensing, staffing and capacity innovations.
- Empowering services like telehealth and Hospital at Home, which maximize the abilities of healthcare workers and allow for patients to be treated at home.
2. Expanding the workforce pipeline
- Launching a campaign to encourage entrance into healthcare careers with direct connections to jobs, education and training opportunities.
- Continued development and recruitment of registered nurses in all healthcare settings.
3. Investing in training and education
- Increasing training for behavioral health, substance use disorders and trauma-responsive competencies to expand capacity to care for — and discharge — patients to non-hospital settings, including skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute care settings.
- Extending to the entire healthcare system loan forgiveness, scholarship and other pipeline development strategies that recent legislature afforded behavioral health providers.
- Creating an “AmeriCorps-type” program where new entrants receive targeted tuition assistance for healthcare employment.
4. Protecting the safety of healthcare workers
- Passing workplace violence prevention legislation, including enhanced penalties for patients and visitors who intentionally attempt or carry out violence against healthcare workers.
- Emphasizing zero-tolerance policies and a culture of reporting among caregivers.
5. Providing financial support
- Providing additional federal funding in addition to the dispersal of remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding.
- Factoring hospital pressures into conversations about the cost growth benchmark and upcoming policy reforms, so providers are not penalized unfairly for factors beyond their control.
