Dear editor,
The lack of nuance by Allen County Regional Hospitals (ACRH) administration regarding the staffing shortage was conspicuous in the recent article dated Jan. 26, Nurses needed STAT. I personally feel it was a poor attempt to spin the unfortunate news that ACRHs descending trend persists.
Witnessing the fairly recent closure of Independence and Fort Scott hospitals, the market share trend of ACRH, and the shortcomings in recruiting enough nurses to run a fairly new 25-bed hospital, should give rise to immediate concerns.
Is there a nursing shortage or a high demand for nursing? Yes, this is not a new phenomenon, most rural hospitals are dealing with this.
Peering beneath the superficial layer discussed in the newspaper article one should question if the nursing shortage is distributed somewhat equally throughout SEK or is this a symptom of an ill at ACRH?
Currently, there are on average three full-time equivalent RN positions open at Neosho Memorial, Anderson County, Girard Medical Center, Wilson County, Greenwood County and Coffeyville Regional Medical Center.
Allen County, meanwhile, currently has 9.5 full-time equivalent RN positions open (eight full-time and three part-time.)
None of the other hospitals I spoke with reported going on repeated diversion for acute care admissions secondary to low staffing in the last year. ACRH has numerous times.
Diversion takes place when a hospital lacks capacity or staff to admit patients. In those instances, patients are transferred to another facility that has capacity.
The inability of HCA and the current administration to compete with surrounding hospitals to attract displaced nurses from Fort Scott and Independence speaks volumes about its brand and opportunity for nurses at ACRH.
I think the hospital board and community would be surprised how many RNs in Allen County drive to surrounding hospitals for employment.
When looking for employment, new savvy RN applicants are looking not only at pay and benefits but also at schools for their children, jobs for their spouses, and housing.
Building a new elementary school complex or landing a big employer in Iola would be synergistic for long-term recruiting and retention of RNs.
As far as ACRH, what do anonymous employee satisfaction scores look like over the last few years? Patient satisfaction scores not only report how happy patients are but also reflect how happy the staff is with their current job and management. This data would give a more accurate overall picture and should be openly discussed and transparent to the community and expose what is potentially exacerbating ACRHs shortage of nursing.
The current skeletal nursing staff at ACRH is being stretched and could potentially affect physical therapy care as well as nurse retention.
