Nursing Shortage: A Case Study

Financial Impact The nursing shortage in the healthcare setting, can result in decreased quality of care with the patient and this can have a significant impact on the financial aspect of the organization. As time changes, there are more acute illnesses being presented in the hospital as a result of the patient prolonging to seek medical treatment. The delay in seeking medical treatment often stems from the patient not having health insurance and seeking home remedies as an alternate method of treatment. When the patient present to the hospital with multiple acute illnesses, the staff should be skilled, ready and available to render the necessary treatment for the patient. The idea of nursing shortage, poses the risk and outcome of poor

J.G. and Mrs. D.J. with the following questions concerning the issues of staffing and nursing shortage. How long has the organization tried to address the issue of staffing and nursing shortage? “Nursing shortage has always been an issue for the Lexington Medical Center. I have been employed here for almost five years and there continues to be a struggle with staffing the unit. We have to utilize agency nurses to fill in the needs on the unit” (J. Gudvangen, personal communication, April 30, 2016). What measures have been taken to address the issue of staffing shortage? “There are incentives being offered to attract new employees to work at the facility. A sign on bonus is offered to the nursing staff for up to fifteen thousand dollars, depending on what area of nursing you specialize in. Also during the peak season when the census is really high in the hospital, a bonus incentive program is offered for medical staff in a twelve weeks span. If the employee works a certain amount of extra hours, in addition to their regular schedule, at the end of the twelve weeks a bonus is paid to the employee. The bonus can range from twenty-five hundred dollars to twelve thousand dollars. This is used a method to attract the staff to work extra hours during the busiest time of the season" (J. Gudvangen, personal communication, April 30, 2016). What future steps have been planned to address the issue of staffing shortage? “The hospital is