Healthcare is among the top industries here. Employment in this sector accounted for almost one out of every 10 jobs in Kansas in 1998, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, a recent shortage of professionals in many different areas has taken its toll. Hospitals are reporting immediate difficulty filling positions such as staff nurses, radiologic technologists, sonographers, nurse anesthetists, pharmacists, paraprofessionals and entry-level workers.

There are several factors contributing to the healthcare shortage. The demand for healthcare services continues to rise with the advancement of new technology and the aging population. The over-85 age group is the fastest-expanding segment of the Kansas population. In addition, the healthcare work force is aging. For instance, the Kansas State Board of Nursing reports that the registered nurse (RN) population jumped in age in 1999, with the greatest number of RN licenses, at 36 percent, in the 41-through-50 age group. Back in 1998, the peak age was 31 through 40 years old. The supply of healthcare workers is projected to decrease because younger people have so many career options to choose from. Also, healthcare jobs are not considered desirable by many people because there may be overtime, weekend and overnight hours, high stress and low pay.

In Kansas, enrollment in RN training programs declined by 17.4 percent from 1996 through 1999, reports the Kansas Hospital Association (KHA) in Topeka. Pass rates have also declined among graduate nurses taking the licensing exam. The pass rate in 1996 was 82 percent and in 1999 it was 72 percent. The KHA maintains that increasing the number of enrollees in healthcare education programs without respect to their readiness may be "self-defeating."

Hospitals in Kansas are working to change the present employment situation. At Wichita, Kan.-based Wesley Medical Center, one new program is aiming to bring new graduates into the workplace environment. This program offers summer internship programs to college students interested in the medical and surgical areas. Via Christi Regional Medical Center, also based in Wichita, has also developed an internship program by partnering with a local university. The hospital has taken its recruitment strategy one step further. "We are just getting ready to roll out a program where high school students come to the hospital to do class work," explains Roz Hutchinson, Via Christi's public relations manager. "They learn how to integrate their work, such as science, with the healthcare field."

Some recruitment and retention strategies being offered include everything from scholarship programs to tuition reimbursement to bonus programs. There are also some innovative plans taking place. "We are trying to extend the ability of nurses," says Hutchinson. "We have hospitality specialists who help by doing things like getting the patient juice. They are not allowed to lift or move a patient. It is one less interruption for nurses and the patients get some pampering at the same time." The idea of this, Hutchinson says, is to create a working environment that allows nurses and other healthcare professionals to give quality care and feel like they are making a difference. "There isn't a better retention strategy than this," she adds.

The KHA is encouraging leaders and policy-makers to address the work-force shortage in the following ways: support and participate in collaborative efforts to address supply issues; increase reimbursement for Medicare, Medicaid and related programs to reflect the higher cost of contract and labor and competitive pay rates; remove barriers to geographic mobility of licensed healthcare professionals; avoid unnecessary licensure and regulatory barriers to efficient utilization of personnel; and enhance funding appropriated to the Kansas Nursing Scholarship Program and simplify implementation requirements. Putting these strategies into action will take the combined efforts of state leaders and those from the public and private sectors.