Pa. needs more health professionals, not mandates – LVB

As leaders of the Commonwealth’s business and health care communities, we are working collaboratively to address the workforce emergency that threatens Pennsylvania’s entire health care system.

Pennsylvania hospitals are reporting staff vacancy rates exceeding 30% for registered nurses, support staff and many other professionals who help care for patients. And this shortage of health professionals is expected to worsen.

The resulting strain on Pennsylvania communities cannot be overstated. Now more than ever, we need lawmakers to prioritize long-term solutions to grow our healthcare workforce and attract more qualified candidates to the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, the approach outlined in House Bill 106 passed by the House of Representatives in June is simply not consistent with these goals.

Instead, the bill would remove experienced nurse leaders from decisions about appropriate patient care and impose mandatory nurse staffing ratios at every hospital in the state. The goal of the bill is certainly to improve patient access to high-quality care. However, HB 106’s effect on patient care would be more than counterproductive; it would be catastrophic for Pennsylvania patients, businesses and communities.

Mandates do not create nurses. It is not reasonable to assume that a mandate would bring enough nurses to the bedside, in the exact specialties and communities where they are needed.

Instead, our state’s hospitals would face an impossible dilemma: dramatically reduce the number of available beds and services or break the law and risk losing their license.

Health care deserts can quickly become economic deserts. Hospitals support nearly one-fifth of the Commonwealth’s gross domestic product and one in ten jobs in Pennsylvania. Longer waits and longer trips to seek care can result in more missed work, job losses and increased costs for patients and their employers. Reduced access to care makes communities less livable, which hinders growth.

Although these devastating effects would be felt statewide, providers in rural communities, where access to care is already limited and hospitals struggle to attract the staff needed to maintain their services, would be particularly threatened. These concerns are far from hypothetical. The fiscal appropriations note for HB 106 estimates that the seven public hospitals alone would need to hire 500 additional nurses to comply with the bill’s strict ratio requirements.

When new staffing mandates for Pennsylvania nursing homes took effect earlier this year, LeadingAge Pennsylvania surveyed nearly 150 qualified nursing professionals and found that more than a third of respondents had reduced beds available due to lack of staff.

More than half of those surveyed have been forced to turn away patients transferred from hospitals, meaning patients have to wait longer in hospital, and 83% said they currently rely on nurses from other countries. temporary employment agencies.

This is simply unsustainable.

As Pennsylvania ages, health care professionals and educators are retiring while the need for care increases. The labor shortage is also in part a symptom of two concurrent phenomena: the brain drain of graduates and skilled workers from Pennsylvania and the difficulties in obtaining the certifications and licenses needed to work.

In response, Pennsylvania hospitals have taken extraordinary steps to better recruit and retain their workers, including pay raises, bonuses, schedule flexibility, loan forgiveness and countless other incentives. Hospitals are also innovating with team-based care, virtual nursing pilots and telehealth to reduce pressure on care teams.

Additionally, Governor Josh Shapiro and his administration recently took commendable steps to allow nurses with multi-state licenses from 40 other states and territories to practice in Pennsylvania. But we must do more.

Growing our state’s healthcare workforce will require forward-thinking public policies and sustained investments to expand access to (and interest in) healthcare careers.

HAP advocates for policies that support students through educational assistance and invest in health care schools, educators, and clinical preceptors. Both of our organizations support meaningful regulatory reforms so that bureaucratic backlogs do not prevent nurses from going to the bedside.

As lawmakers consider how best to support Pennsylvania’s health care teams and patients, we urge them to reject ineffective mandates and focus on solutions that will expand the health care workforce, protect access to high-quality care and will strengthen Pennsylvania’s communities.

Luke Bernstein is president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Nicole Stallings is president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.