Health-care HR departments face challenges

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jun 08, 2007 by Acton, Ryann

SYRACUSE - Longer life expectancies continue to drive growth in the health-care sector.

Health-care employment has grown by 362,000 jobs nationally so far this year, according to the United States Department of Labor. In April alone, 37,000 health-care positions were added, department statistics show.

The rapid increases can make it challenging for human-resources departments at health-care facilities to recruit skilled labor.

Growth

While Labor Department statistics show rapid increases in the health-care sector nationally, local data and hospital officials' comments show the local market is growing gradually.

In April 2007, hospitals in the Syracuse MSA employed 9,000 - up from 8,900 in March 2007, according to the New York State Department of Labor. Average annual employment increased from 8,900 in 2005 to 9,100 in 2006, department statistics show.

"It's really at a gradual pace," Patricia Brecht, manager of recruitment at University Hospital, says of the growth.

The 350-bed hospital, located at 750 E.Adams St. in Syracuse, employs 3,100. Its job-vacancy rate is 7 percent, Brecht says.

Crouse Hospital is also showing signs of steady growth. Positions are added after senior management determines there is a true need, says Thomas Shatraw, director of human resources.

The 586-bed hospital, located at 736 Irving Ave., has recently added a transition-coach position in the hospital's senior-services department to assist patients moving from Crouse to home care. Crouse employs 2,460 employees.

Registered nurses (RNs) and those in medical-imaging, environmental, and nutritional departments make up the bulk of the hospital's work force, Shatraw says. The hospital currently has 32 job openings advertised on its Web site, he says.

In 2006, it took Crouse 18 days to fill a position - down from 36 days in 2004, Shatraw says. He attributes this to improved recruiting methods.

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center has also created additional RN positions to accommodate hospital need, says Linda Corrigan, director of clinical services at St. Joseph's. The 431-bed hospital, at 301 Prospect Ave. in Syracuse, is now hiring more RNs than it has positions, Corrigan says.

The hospital hired 85 of its 131 College of Nursing 2007 graduates, she adds.

Typically, St. Joseph's has a 5 percent RN vacancy rate, she says. St. Joseph's employs 3,791. The hospital employed 2,143 registered nurses as of the last quarter of 2006, Corrigan says.

Areas of need

Crouse Hospital typically experiences difficulty filling medical-imaging positions, Shatraw says. These include CT positions in nuclear medicine and mammography. Medical-imaging services are now commonly offered at private-physician practices, he explains.

"It's a matter of supply and demand," he says.

University Hospital also has difficulty filling medical-imaging positions, Brecht says.

The time it takes University Hospital to fill a position varies, she says. The hospital can typically fill clerical and secretarial positions within about three weeks, Brecht says. But management positions that require college degrees typically take about six weeks to fill, she adds.

Starting salaries depend on the candidate's experience, she says.

"Our salaries are competitive and our benefit package is over and above other employers," Brecht says.

University Hospital offers employees a pension plan, several options for health insurance, and paid time off, she explains.

Finding pharmacists is another area where outside competition has made recruiting difficult. Crouse Hospital competes with retailers and pharmacy-benefit managing companies for pharmacists, he says.

"Pharmacy is not easy," Shatraw contends.

While Shatraw declined to disclose starting salaries, he did say they are market driven.

St. Joseph's has some difficulty recruiting highly skilled RNs for the emergency room and home-care services, Corrigan says. The hospital recruits heavily from its College of Nursing.

However, the emergency-room department cannot hire recent graduate nurses due to the experience needed, Corrigan explains. Home-care RNs are difficult to recruit because St. Joseph's offers round-the-clock care to patients, making schedules and hours demanding, she says.

Starting salaries for registered nurses at St. Joseph's have increased over the past several years, Corrigan says. She declined to disclose starting salaries, but did say that all employees received a 6 percent raise this year.

Common methods of recruitment for University Hospital, Crouse Hospital, and St. Joseph's are newspaper advertising and job fairs.