St. Luke’s University Health Network, a 972-bed nonprofit health system in Pennsylvania, faced two increasingly persistent challenges. One was economic, as the health system faced continuing pressure on margins because of rising costs and diminishing payments and reimbursements. The other was meeting its staffing goals in an increasingly tight healthcare labor market.

Nurse Competency recently shared an article about getting a grip on the U.S. nursing shortage. The post outlined a combination of three smart recruitment and retention solutions that will help to address this ongoing challenge.

In a month which fell short of expectations, a total of 38,000 jobs were added to the US economy in May, according to data released last Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

However, the Healthcare & Social Assistance (+55,400) and Professional Services (excluding temporary help; +31,000) sectors exhibited strong growth last month.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners is projected to grow 31 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.

HealthTrust℠ was selected for the seventh time as a recipient of a “Champion for Change” award from Practice Greenhealth. The recognition is one of the national membership organization’s Environmental Excellence Awards given annually to honor outstanding environmental achievements in the healthcare sector.

The HealthTrust reSOURCEs blog recently shared story about how the demands being put upon the healthcare system by the aging population and featured commentary from Parallon Workforce Solutions. 

Facilities that serve aging Americans, either in acute care or long-term care settings, will not just be staying busy. They’ll also need new strategies and techniques to recruit and train their staff to meet the changing needs of a more active, engaged and digitally savvy population of older adults.