|
It's an issue that is quickly becoming a
problem in Southern Colorado; too many
hospitals, too few nurses.
Two new hospitals will open in the near
future, which is something that will
only make the demand grow even bigger.
Memorial Hospital's North facility is
set to open April 25th, and
all ready, the staff has had to rethink
its recruitment strategies.
"What we are doing now is that we have a
larger recruiting focus, so we've been
actually attending recruiting events
outside of Colorado Springs," Pat
Reynolds of Memorial Hospital says.
Reynolds says the staff at the new
hospital is nearly two thirds of the way
full, but there's still some work to do
before the April opening. "Memorial
Health Systems have a great reputation
and we do have people applying."
It's also a problem at Penrose St.
Francis, where employees are already
thinking ahead for their new hospital's
opening within the next year.
While the shortage has to do with
increasing demand, Dr. Carole
Schoffstall, Dean of University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs' Beth-El
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
says the problem has to do with funding
at the school level. Schoffstall says a
lack of funding limits the amount of
students her school can accept.
As a result, Schoffstall has had to
rethink of ideas to try and meet the
market's growing demand.
"One of the things that we're doing is
starting this doctorate in nursing
practioners this summer, so we will
actually be preparing graduates to take
on faculty roles," Schoffstall says. |
