Wisconsin Hospital Association Releases Annual Workforce Report

Wednesday, February 25th, 2026 -- 11:01 AM

(Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) The hospital workforce in Wisconsin is growing, but not enough to keep pace with growing demands from the state’s aging population, according to a new report.

According to Joe Schulz with the Wisconsin Radio Network, the Wisconsin Hospital Association released its annual workforce report Tuesday. It shows that employment in Wisconsin hospitals has grown by 23 percent over the last decade, while staffing vacancy rates have come down since the highs registered after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vacancy rates fell from 10 percent in 2022 to 7.2 percent in 2024, the report notes. Even so, vacancy rates are still more than double what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report says hospital vacancy rates sat at 3.4 percent in 2019.

“We are really encouraged by the growth of the workforce and the fact that younger generations are really showing an interest in health care careers,” said Ann Zenk, the Wisconsin Hospital Association’s senior vice president of workforce and clinical practices.

Despite some gains, the hospital association says it’s not enough to meet the needs of an aging population. Wisconsin’s working-age population has been declining since 2010 and is projected to continue shrinking through 2050, the report notes. At the same time, its population over 65 has been growing since 2010.

“The fact that only Wisconsin’s population over 65 is expected to grow over the next couple of decades puts immense pressure on hospitals, health systems and the health care workforce,” Zenk said. “Older people not only need more health care, they need more intense health care.”

With the 65-plus population making up the fastest-growing segment of the population in the state, the report estimates that overall health care demand will increase by 10 percent above current levels by 2040.

Residents who are 65 and older use health care at more than twice the rate of working-age adults and five times the rate of people under 15, the report said. As the state’s elderly population grows, the report says post-acute care is also going to need to grow, but a decline in the number of nursing home beds in recent decades is “exacerbating the issue.”

According to the report, the number of licensed nursing home beds in Wisconsin decreased from 46,000 in 2002 to 26,000 in 2024. Over the same period, the number of elderly, blind and disabled individuals enrolled in Medicaid increased from about 143,000 to almost 270,000.

“An aging population requires more health care and also will require more nursing homes and assisted living capacity,” Zenk said. “And the trend in Wisconsin is moving the wrong way, with about half the number of nursing home beds for twice the number of elderly and vulnerable Wisconsin citizens.”

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