Page 20 - BusinessWest June 10, 2024

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Progress J
ason Pacheco doesn’t like using that
He noted that Baystate and other providers
are no longer using large numbers of very expen- sive travel nurses, and there is no longer a sense of desperation over if and how vacancies will be filled. But in this new normal, there are still many open positions at any given time — more than before the pendulum started to swing.
There is also a greater need to be competi-
tive with compensation, benefits, and other perks; added emphasis on retention and the many ele- ments of that equation; many more pay-to-train programs, education-assistance efforts, and other inititiatives to get individuals into healthcare and then provide them with the skills to succeed at one job and then advance to others; greater collabora- tion with area colleges to train existing employees and help them advance; and an ever-growing need to listen to employees and create an environment they want to be part of.
“Baystate has implemented several key training programs ... for example, we’ll go out and recruit
Report
phrase ‘new normal’ any more than any- one else these days.
It’s more than a little tired, and in most settings, it’s been retired.
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
20
JUNE 10, 2024
MONTHLY FEATURE
BusinessWest
The Crisis Might Be Over, but Challenges Remain on the Healthcare Workforce Front
But when it comes to the workforce issues fac- ing healthcare providers these days, it ultimately works. Four full years after the height of the pan- demic and maybe a decade after some not-so- subtle shifts in the workforce landscape, especially the retirement of Baby Boomers, there is what appears to a new normal, and one that will con- tinue for the foreseeable future.
It’s no longer a crisis, in the true sense of that word, although there are certainly many challeng- es, said Pacheco, director of Workforce Planning, Analytics, and Compensation for Baystate Health.