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New England looks
to ease heathcare woes
 Vermont
hospitals and healthcare establishments know all too well
what it means to struggle. As perhaps the most rural state
in New England, its medical institutions must fight perceptions
at least twice as hard as facilities in other parts of the
country. Recruiting in the state can be hard, but not impossible.
In fact, Vermont has put a lot of work into filling the labor
gaps that plague the area's otherwise lush landscape. For
healthcare professionals looking for work, the state is awash
with opportunities.
Kathleen
Keleher, president of the Vermont State Nurses Association
in South Burlington, describes the job market in healthcare
as strong. "Vermont is a very rural state so it can often
be more difficult to staff than in more populated areas,"
explains Keleher, administrative director of nursing at Fletcher
Allen Health Care in Burlington. "For nurses, there are many
openings. We are the only large tertiary-care medical center
in the state, so we are always aggressively recruiting." The
state is also home to more than a dozen small community hospitals,
all of which compete for the best and brightest.
In
keeping with the rest of the country, Vermont is in desperate
need of nurses. RNs, LPNs and licensed nursing assistants
(LNAs) are all in great demand. In fact, a recent report by
the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems showed
that the vacancy rate for RNs in 2000 was 7 percent, nearly
reaching the record high set in 1989. The LPN vacancy rate
was at 8.8 percent, its highest level ever, while LNAs showed
a 16.2-percent vacancy rate. What has hurt the state most
is its relative inability to keep its nursing students from
accepting jobs elsewhere. "We graduate about 150 RNs a year
from our state universities," Keleher says, "and only about
half stay in the state."
Recognizing
the growing problem, the state created its Nursing Blue Ribbon
Commission to address the shortage. Earlier this year it released
a report, complete with recommendations for educating new
nurses. The commission outlined a $1.75 million program that
includes a new state center for nursing, loan-forgiveness
programs and a marketing campaign to demonstrate some of the
opportunities in the field. To that end, Vermont Technical
College opened a new wing that includes a large nursing education
classroom replicating a hospital setting. Another boon was
a $3 million gift from the Freeman Foundation in Stowe. The
money will be donated during a five-year period to the state's
various nursing schools to fund a new scholarship program
- the Freeman Nurse Scholars Program.
Actions
like these are good news for healthcare institutions across
the state. After all, hospitals aren't the only ones in need
of nurses. Peter Cobb, executive director of the Vermont Assembly
of Home Health Agencies in Montpelier, says his industry is
facing dire straits. "In home healthcare, there are significant
openings for nurses and home healthcare aides," Cobb shares.
"But the biggest problem for us are LNAs. An LNA tends to
be a lower-paid position, so a lot of people leave. Almost
50 percent left last year. They get paid $8 to $11 an hour
as an LNA, and then learn they can go somewhere else, make
more money and not have to work weekends and nights."
Although
nursing continues to be the state's largest blight, there
are other areas where Vermont healthcare facilities are facing
a need. Respiratory therapists, nursing managers, sonography
technicians, radiology technicians and pharmacists are highly
desired professionals. Entry-level positions are also feeling
the crunch as hospitals and other healthcare facilities search
for workers ranging from housekeeping to food service. Because
of this wide range of opportunities, the outlook for job candidates
is "very rosy," says Barbara Church, director of Employment
Services at Fletcher Allen Health Care. "It is a competitive
job market," Church shares. "Even with the slowing of the
economy, we're not seeing it here."
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