FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky hospitals are short more than 5,000 nursing positions, an industry-wide shortage of more than 22% that a new study says has created a crisis in the commonwealth's health care industry.
The Kentucky Hospital Association released the new data during a news conference Thursday morning at the state Capitol in Frankfort. In a news release, the KHA said 100% of Kentucky's acute care hospitals submitted data for the study.
"The results show the depth of the crisis in Kentucky," KHA President Nancy Galvagni said. "Every region of the state is impacted by this issue."
The study showed 53% of the vacant positions stem from medical surgical units, critical care units and emergency rooms. In total, there are 13,000 vacant positions at Kentucky hospitals, and more than 14% of registered nurses at Kentucky hospitals are "nearing retirement age," the KHA said.
"These departments are essential to provide care for the patients that we serve," Galvagni said. "The costs associated with the shortage are astronomical."
Those costs, the study found, amount to a projected 1,014% increase in contract labor in 2022 compared to 2019. Spending on travel nurses have increased from $88 million in 2019 to a projected $1 billion in 2022, Galvagni said. And the costs for overtime and bonuses have gone from $50 million in 2019 to nearly $400 million projected in 2022.
"This could be devastating for every Kentuckian," Galvagni said.Â
There's been a renewed increase, she said, to work with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to see if there's any way to increase the number of graduates in the state's nursing programs. Earlier this year, Norton Healthcare and Bellarmine University announced a partnership in an effort to address the shortage by helping put more nurses in local hospitals.
"You can't start too early when talking to young people about the different careers and health care," said Rick Smith, associated vice president of workforce and economic development at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. "So by the time they get to college, they are already informed with a good decision because they know it's something they may want to do."
Health care officials said if the trend doesn’t change, Kentucky hospitals could be forced to reduce beds and services. Mike Sherrod, chief executive officer of Tristar Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, said the last three years have been as dramatic a problem as the industry has ever seen.
"It's not the quick fix, but we've got to have a long-term answer as for the growing population and in supporting our hospitals," Sherrod said. "... We want to make sure that we have properly trained and enough staff to make sure we deliver the proper care timely."
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