On Wednesday, March 24th, Veronica Murphy, Vice President of Human Resources at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital, and Kerri-Lyn Kelly, Talent Development & Learning Specialist at Piedmont Healthcare joined MAX Talks for a conversation on the most pressing workforce needs in healthcare they are seeing today and what to anticipate in the days ahead. Both Murphy and Kelly represent healthcare enterprises with hundreds of locations and an extensive reach in serving Georgia’s population. And both enterprises, having already seen an increase in demand for their services prior to COVID-19 in Georgia, have worked steadfastly to meet the significant rise in demand due to pandemic.
Here are a few highlights from the insights they shared:
- Due to a rise in patients needing care, nurses continue in critical demand. And, due to COVID-19, respiratory therapists, are also in critical demand.
- The talent demands associated with the support system around the patient and beyond nursing have also risen significantly. For example, these positions include care partners, CNAs, emergency department technicians (ED Techs), food and nutrition or other dietary staff, environmental services (EVS) staff, safety sitters, patient transporters, and patient greeters. This supportive system of personnel work alongside nurses to ensure the most efficient manner of care possible for the patient.
- Supportive positions are entry level roles that offer the lowest wages and require the least amount of education and are therefore the most difficult to fill. Help is needed in finding people interested in these roles. Lack of transportation and nearby affordable housing exacerbate the challenges.
- Developing career pathways for healthcare employees is key for ongoing talent development and retention. For example, a pathway can be developed for an environmental services (EVS) employee to become a CNA or for a RN to become a manager.
- Due to the virtual environment, candidates need to not only be a cultural fit but also have the technical skills to participate in virtual application and onboarding processes.
RECORDING OF FULL SESSION
This article captures just a fraction of the valuable insights shared during this MAX Talks session. A recording of the full session is available for MAX members.
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ABOUT MAX TALKS
Launched in 2014, the mission of MAX is to advance economic competitiveness in the Atlanta region by strengthening connections, collaborations, and practices among workforce developers and organizations engaged in workforce development.
Through MAX Talks, MAX seeks to provide opportunities for workforce developers to hear directly from employers about their current and emerging workforce needs.