‘So Many Options’ campaign targets youth to address Wisconsin’s healthcare staffing shortages

Wisconsin hospitals are currently experiencing a staffing vacancy rate of approximately 10%, according to a March report by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Due to the pandemic, the vacancy rate in hospitals increased but has been returning back to normal levels. While the current state of hospital vacancies is not as severe as it once was, the report emphasized the importance of attracting more people to the field in order to sustain a healthy workforce for future generations.

According to WHA and AMN Healthcare, obtaining more staff is crucial, especially given the increase in demand for healthcare services in Wisconsin and nationally. An indication of this growing demand is shown by the rising trends of healthcare pricing — in 2022 the National Health Expenditure grew 4.1%, or by $13,493 per person.

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According to Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice at WHA Ann Zenk, addressing the staffing crisis also means preparing for the retirement of the baby boomer generation, a group that makes up a significant portion of the healthcare workforce. By 2030, every baby boomer will be over the age of sixty-five, and in Wisconsin the future retirees outnumber the state’s youth population by about 10%.

Essentially, the incoming workforce is not large enough to replace the retiring population in the next two decades. This expected decline of workers — often referred to as the silver tsunami — will have lasting effects for all industries, not just for healthcare.

According to WHA, the healthcare industry is uniquely affected because its demand is greatly influenced by changing demographics more so than other industries that rely primarily on economic factors.

This lack of staffing is closely tied to the level of burnout experienced by healthcare professionals, according to Regional Vice President for Human Resources at SSM Health Gail Pasard. A study conducted in 2023 found that among healthcare respondents, 49.9% experienced burnout and 28.7% reported an intention to leave the workforce, according to the National Library of Medicine.

“We recognize the reality of burnout which has made its way into the workforce — not only because of staffing, but for a variety of other reasons like family, life changes and experienced trauma,” Pasard said. “We are dedicated to ensuring that our current team members know they are heard, as we place additional infrastructure to support them. We also want our new team members — especially those who are new to healthcare — to come in knowing they are supported and not alone in this.”

To address the lack of staffing, the WHA Foundation has initiated So Many Options, a workforce campaign aimed at strengthening the education-to-healthcare pipeline. The campaign targets students in middle and high school with the intention of informing more students about the careers and possibilities in the healthcare industry. Advertisements will also encourage involvement of those who may be seeking a first job or for those already in healthcare looking for a career switch, according to the Director of Wisconsin Area Health Education Center Elizabeth Bush.

“One of the projects we have been working on is how to increase the awareness of, interest in and — hopefully — the intent to pursue health professions of learners,” Bush said. “We were excited to work with WHA to develop a new resource for students of all ages to learn more about the diverse array of health profession options that are out there.”

Currently, there are more than six-hundred nursing, radiology, therapists, coding, scheduling or customer service related positions open with University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. These are jobs in healthcare that aren’t necessarily doctors or nurses but are still important for people to consider if it suits their interests, according to Talent Acquisition Manager at UW Health Chuck Klein. The So Many Options campaign seeks to demonstrate this aspect of healthcare careers.

Besides the advertising campaign, there are other resources and opportunities that work to address this shortage. UW Health offers a Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program, a paid position that allows for in-class education and hands-on application, and a Nursing Assistant Apprenticeship Program, which allows for students to engage in direct patient care in a hospital setting.

UW Health also partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and Madison College to create one of the nation’s first Registered Nurse Apprenticeship Programs. These programs allow for students of all types to engage in the healthcare system.

Similarly, SSM offers administrative fellowships and internships. In addition, they provide a Student Nurse Externship Program and a Youth Apprenticeship Program to provide a pathway for students to gain experience in the medical world.

They also are looking to become involved in a virtual nursing initiative conducted by the American Nursing Association, according to Lewis. This allows for more tenured nurses nearing to manage patients alongside in-person nurses. The program may become widely used and mitigate ramifications felt from the silver tsunami, according to Lewis. Ultimately these programs and opportunities work jointly with the So Many Options campaign to garner a stronger healthcare workforce for future generations.

“We have a variety of positions, and schedules that will work for all kinds of people,” Klein said. “There’s something for those that may be in school wanting to supplement some income or build some connections and industry to folks who might be in later stages of their career where they wanna work part time or per diem role … I think the message is that we have career opportunities for anyone at any stage of life.”