This week, the 30by30 Campaign’s Every Day We Delay is shining a spotlight on how skyrocketing home and rental prices are negatively impacting health care.
You’ve seen the headlines and probably have experienced it yourself: There is a critical nursing shortage in the United States. Projections indicate the need for more than 1 million additional nurses by 2030.
In Kentucky, by that time, nearly 25% of all psychiatric nurses and more than 19% of all operating room nurses will have retired. There already is a 23 percent national vacancy for RNs in medical/surgical units vacant. In addition, Kentucky hospitals face nearly 13,000 total non-physician staff vacancies with nurses making up a significant portion of this gap.
Matt Grimshaw, market president for CommonSpirit – Kentucky, which includes the former Saint Joseph Health hospitals and clinics, said that even with those large workforce gaps, CommonSpirit is fully staffed with nurses working at normal wages in its London, Berea, Mount Sterling and Bardstown hospitals, as well as its ambulatory care facility and emergency department in Jessamine County. In contrast, to fill the need in Lexington, it has 100 nurses who are float pool nurses. They are transient rather than permanently assigned to one place.
“Lexington is the only community we serve that cannot fill all its positions with permanent nurses,” Grimshaw said. “ Nursing candidates are choosing to move to, and work in, those communities rather than Lexington because of housing costs that are up to 30 percent lower. This is a crisis not just for hospitals and not even just for health care. It’s a crisis for all of us.”
And here are a couple of additional perspectives:
- The National League of Cities states: “Cities are competing for talent, investment and business growth — but without affordable, healthy and safe housing, the workforce foundation crumbles. Housing is not just a social issue, it’s an economic necessity to ensure workers can work, businesses can thrive and communities remain strong.”
- Eric Ford, the editor for the Journal of Healthcare Management, wrote: “The housing crisis is not just a societal issue—it’s a healthcare sustainability issue. From urban centers to rural towns, the stability of our healthcare systems depends on ensuring that those who care for our communities have a place to call home. Healthcare executives must recognize the critical link between housing and workforce stability. Whether partnering with local governments to develop housing projects in cities or investing directly in infrastructure for rural facilities, these initiatives must be viewed as part of the healthcare system’s broader mission to promote community well-being.”
“Hospitals are open 24/7,” Grimshaw said. “Our patient-centered employees can’t work remotely if the weather is bad, so when workers have long commutes, it further impedes their ability to get to work every day. As a result, healthcare facilities will move to the periphery of the county to be closer to workers, or they will build outside Lexington because that is where organizations can staff them. Education and health care are the backbone of our community. If we want world class of both, we have to figure out how to get more housing that is affordable for the workforce.”
Lexington residents can learn more and sign up to join Lexington For Everyone’s 30by30 Campaign at www.lexingtonforeveryone.com. They also can email council members and ask them to support these common-sense, balanced proposals by looking up individual council members here or emailing all council members at CouncilMembers-Email@lexingtonky.gov.