Page 36 - BusinessWest July 11, 2022

Healthcare
Support Systems
Hospitals Take Creative Steps to Attract and Retain Nurses
The past few years have been extremely challenging times for all those in healthcare, but especially the nurses on the front lines. The stress and long hours stemming from COVID have led many to leave the profession — intensifying an already-critical shortage
of nurses. In an effort to better attract and retain nurses, area hospitals are taking a number of steps — everything from dramatic increases in pay and signing bonuses, to the introduction of ‘quiet rooms,’ where nurses can unwind during their shifts, to initiatives to create a wider pipeline of nurses. These measures are being implemented to create
a better work environment and, overall,
help stem a workforce crisis that has taxed hospitals in every conceivable way.
“Quietrooms’ liketheseatMercyMedicalCenterarejustoneofthe initiatives aimed at helping nurses and other healthcare professionals battle stress.
KBy Kailey Houle
elly Chevalier, DND, is a military veteran, having served in the Air National Guard at Barnes Airport in Westfield. She said there have been many comparisons between
actual combat and day-to-day life in hospitals and other
healthcare settings at the height of COVID. She believes they are valid.
Recalling those days, Chevalier, director of Nursing Education at Mercy Medical Center and director of the Emergency Department, said healthcare professionals would show up for work facing a great unknown and danger to their own health and safety.
“That made me proud to be a part of this career and proud to be a nurse,” she said, comparing the nurses she worked beside to soldiers
36 JULY 11, 2022 HEALTHCARE BusinessWest