The Ohio Hospital Association said the vacancy rate statewide for nurses was 4 percent in 2010, the most recent year for which data was available. That’s down from 6.2 percent in 2009 and is down considerably from previous years when the statewide vacancy rate was in double digits, OHA spokeswoman Mary Yost said.
Atrium Medical Center in Middletown has the most openings with approximately 20 for nurses, according to Ted Ripperger, administrative director of human resources. Most of Atrium’s openings also are in specialty areas such as critical care, heart and surgery that require several years of experience or additional training, according to Ripperger.
Mercy Health – Fairfield Hospital has only 17 openings for full- and part-time nurses and are mostly in speciality areas, according to the hospital. That’s a vacancy rate of openings of about 3 percent, according to Nanette Bentley, spokeswoman for Mercy Health.
Bentley said Mercy Health has seen a surplus of new nurses for the past two years, in-line with the economic downturn.
“Prior to that, there was such a shortage of nurses in this market that it was difficult to secure even new graduates,” she said.
Fort Hamilton Hospital has 8 nurse job openings, a vacancy rate of 1.5 percent, according to the hospital.
There are still jobs out there for nurses, but if they want to work at a hospital, the more education the better, said Barb Ratliff, associate director of health programs for Butler Technology and Career Development Schools. Butler Tech offers programs for licensed practical nurses. LPNs are mostly employed by extended care facilities, home care companies, doctors’ offices and hospices, Ratliff said.
“I do think the hospitals are looking for that BSN (bachelor’s of science in nursing) nurse directly at this time,” she said.
Good Samaritan Hospital of Dayton in recent weeks routinely told nurses to stay home just before their shifts were scheduled to begin. The hospital acknowledged its use of “flex time” has generated complaints from nurses, some of whom lost up to a third of their regularly scheduled hours during the holidays.
Good Samaritan is part of Premier Health Partners, the same health system Atrium is a part of.
Officials at Atrium Medical said, like all hospitals, said they use flex staffing based on patient needs, acuity and volumes. They also look at any special training required to provide patient care.
“Maintaining bedside staff levels based on patient volumes and acuity is important not just to ensure proper patient care, but also to ensure that health care dollars are being used responsibly,” said Lisa Gossett, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer of Atrium.
Joe Geigle, human resources director at Fort Hamilton, said his hospital looks at its staffing basically every shift and even periodic times during that shift.
While long used, flex time has become a more prevalent practice at hospitals statewide, said Gingy Harshey-Meade, chief executive officer of the Ohio Nurses Association, which represents registered nurses.
“From an economic standpoint, it’s a very bad thing for the nurse,” many of whom are single parents trying to support families, Harshey-Meade said. “How long could you support your family if your weekly pay was diminished by a third?”
Harshey-Meade said consistent use of flex time is not the best way to run a hospital.
“It’s being used as a staffing solution as opposed to (hospitals) knowing their markets,” she said.
Harshey-Meade said reduced reimbursement rates by the government for health care services also are likely a factor in nurses being told to stay home.
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