By Charles Young, The Exponent Telegram
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — The state’s health care industry is grappling with “persistent workforce challenges,” according to Jim Kaufman, president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association.
While nursing shortages often make headlines, Kaufman told the West Virginia Senate Workforce Committee on Monday, the lack of trained health care workers extends beyond nurses.
“It’s not just nurses,” he said. “It’s every single position in the hospital that hospitals are struggling to fill. Nurses get the headlines because they are truly the backbone of the delivery system, but it’s also environmental services. We have a shortage of respiratory therapists, and I’ve heard hospitals say that if the word ‘tech’ is associated, there is a shortage.”
In addition to nursing vacancy rates across the state, the WVHA tracks vacancy rates for imaging, laboratory and respiratory positions, Kaufman said.
“In 2022, we saw vacancy rates in West Virginia hospitals of 19% for nursing,” he said. “The good news is it’s moving in the right direction and has come down to 15%.”
