With COVID-19 came unprecedented hardships and challenges for workers around the globe. The one industry grappling with enormous strain and pressure? Our healthcare system.
Health care facilities are facing massive staffing shortages across the country, limited supply of personal protective equipment and ICU beds that have been and continue to edge on maximum capacity.
High-level administrators and physicians, who have the heart-rending task of caring for countless lives, are exhausted and overworked. As a result, industry leaders now have another significant concern to address: employee burnout.
Healthcare Employees are Short-Staffed & Overwhelmed
With workers stretched too thin, Mental Health America aimed to quantify the psychological impact of the pandemic on healthcare employees. Their survey revealed, “93% of health care workers were experiencing stress, 86% reported experiencing anxiety, 77% reported frustration, 76% reported exhaustion and burnout, and 75% said they were overwhelmed.”
Emotional resilience and employee wellbeing – especially for clinicians – are essential in delivering an optimal level of care and mitigating the spread of the virus. Leaders must be actively monitoring and evaluating the mental state of their workers – providing access to institutional support as well as self-care strategies.
The Financial Implication
From an operational standpoint, increased turnover and employee burnout are greatly impacting bottom line; putting a considerable amount of pressure on both resources and budget for healthcare organizations. Day-to-day inefficiencies, insufficient staffing and burnout not only drive revenue loss – greatly diminishing hospital margins – but they’re also affecting the level of care patients are receiving.
According to the 2020 National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report, the cost of turnover for a bedside RN costs an average of $44,400 per nurse. That equates to an estimated $3.6 million–$6.1 million in annual revenue loss for hospitals. An understaffed facility also means an increase in administrative burden. Why? Because staffing and backfilling healthcare positions create the need for added HR work and workplace training – which only serves to fuel the cycle of burnout. That’s why many facilities are now seeking the help of an experienced healthcare recruitment agency.
In Value Based Payment environments, turnover and inadequate staffing can compromise patient satisfaction scores as the quality of care falters. Since HCAHPS ratings impact reimbursement rates, it can cause dire revenue loss and increase the burden on an already stressed and overwhelmed staff.
Using a Healthcare Recruitment Agency to Manage Burnout
By partnering with a healthcare recruitment firm, you’ll greatly minimize time and expenses normally allocated towards sourcing, screening, interviewing, and ultimately extending an offer to healthcare professionals. What’s more, you’ll have a pipeline of quality employees to tap into for unexpected staff absences and fluctuations in patient flow – which will effectively mitigate revenue loss and worker burnout.
Covid-19 has certainly been challenging to navigate. But no industry has experienced the weight of its impact more than the healthcare system. Leaders must continuously assess the well-being of their staff and make strategic decisions in terms of allocating additional resources where needed.
How Polaris Placement Helps Others Like You:
“We have consistently had a very good experience with Polaris because of their knowledge of the field, networking capability and their ability to understand what a client needs. Polaris gives the personalized, professional service that any health center would expect but rarely gets.”
— Larry McReynolds, Executive Director
“Polaris has saved us valuable time and money by presenting on-target candidates. Often they get it right in just 2-3 presentations. We know we can turn to them for clinical management and leadership vacancies.”
— Ellen Heasley, Director of Nurse Recruitment
Do you need results like these to counter burnout and improve your operations?
The healthcare recruitment experts at Polaris Placement are ready to help. Our expertise and industry focus results in a higher level of responsiveness and accuracy when you need it most. Get in touch today.