Hospital Staffing Vacancy Rates in Wisconsin Stabilize, But Need Remains High

Wednesday, March 13th, 2024 -- 2:00 PM

(Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) Hospital staffing vacancy rates have mostly stabilized in Wisconsin, but the need remains high as the state’s baby boomers retire, increasing demand for health care.

According to Joe Schulz with Wisconsin Public Radio, that’s according to a new Health Care Workforce Report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association. The report found that from September 2021 to September 2022, overall staffing vacancy rates at hospitals remained unchanged at roughly 10 percent.

In 2020, those vacancy rates were 5.3 percent. Across the state, staffing vacancy rates were in double digits for eight of 18 health care professions tracked in the report.

Those include licensed practical nurses, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, surgical technologist, radiologic technologists, registered nurses and certified medical assistants.

The highest vacancies were among licensed practical nurses, or LPNs, and certified registered nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs. According to the report, one in four LPNs and one in five CRNAs employed by hospitals are nearing retirement.

Ann Zenk, senior vice president of workforce and clinical practice for the Wisconsin Hospital Association, said workforce shortages in health care can lead to burnout for staff members who have to work extra shifts or overtime to make up for the gaps.

While hospitals do their best to prevent staffing challenges from affecting care, patients still feel the effects, Zenk said. “When those gaps can’t be filled, that means that maybe a service can’t be offered any longer,” she said. “When there’s a staffing shortage, patients and their families might have to wait longer in the emergency department or for a physician appointment, or they might have to travel further to get that care.”

The hospital association doesn’t have workforce data for 2023. Even so, Zenk said health care leaders around the state have told the association that it was still tough to recruit talent last year, but it did get somewhat easier than in 2021 and 2022.

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