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Show facilities that did not respond, 63% were rural, 8 had 100 beds or fewer, 2 had 101 to 200 beds, and 1 had more than 201 beds. The data provided mean scores among Utah hospitals for overall turnover rates and turnover rates by age. Also recorded by job category were current openings, age, tenure, and turnover rates. Mean scores were compared among hospitals of different sizes and between urban and rural centers. Simple T-tests determined the significance of differences. FTEs were typically measured by dividing the total number of employee hours recorded by the total number of hours equivalent to one fulltime employee, hi some cases, for example, a fulltime employee was considered someone who worked 36 hours per week, hi others, that might be 40 hours per week. Turnover rates were calculated by dividing the total number of FTEs who left during the prior year by the total budgeted FTEs for that year. RESULTS The average annual turnover rate for all Utah hospitals was at 17.6% during the survey. The turnover rate for employees 29 years old and younger was at 24%; for those between 30 to 39 years old, 13.8%; between 40 to 49 years old, 11.1%; and the rate for those 50 and older was 6.9%. Utah hospitals responding to this survey reported a 13% turnover rate among registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. This compares to nationwide turnover rate of 36% for these two groups (AHCA, 2002). The authors of the study calculated the number of nursing and allied health graduates leaving Utah's high education facilities each year and those graduates alone will not meet the need. When asked how hospitals have coped with staff shortages, those hospital representatives who responded to this item suggested the following: 13 reported that current staff have been asked to work overtime; eight said current staff have been asked to increase work load; and three hospitals have hired less qualified staff. Four hospitals reported that they had actually had services limited or cancelled due to a staffing shortage. A look at the individual employee positions is also revealing. Table 1 breaks down the averages among hospitals for each of the key areas. These include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, radiologic technologists, clinical lab personnel, physical therapists and pharmacists. The results clearly indicate the great overall need for registered nurses with an average of 21.6 openings per hospital. This represents 9% of the total RN positions budgeted for Utah hospitals. Licensed practical nurses are also in demand with openings at 16% of the average total number of LPN positions in hospitals. These data compare to national means of 14% vacancy rates for RNs and 13% vacancy rates for LPNs (AHCA, 2002). Just less than 12% of the total positions for radiologic technicians were open. Also of note was the percentage of workers older than 50 years old. This age group was responsible for at least 20% of the workforce in the positions of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, clinical lab technologists, and pharmacists. Data regarding the total number of nursing positions open in Utah hospitals were validated when compared to unpublished studies of the Utah Coalition of Nurse Leadership and professional societies representing the allied health professionals studied. Comparisons were made among hospitals grouped in three sizes, those with 100 or fewer beds, those with 101 to 200 beds, and those with 201 or more beds. No significant differences existed among mean scores in tenure, turnover, or age. Obviously, the number of openings differed substantially due to the size of the facility and the total number of staff employed. Independent sample mean scores were also compared between urban and rural hospitals and few statistically significant differences were found. The comparisons of note are included in Table 2. These included the turnover rates among respiratory therapists, radiological technologists and physical therapists; the age of radiological technologists; and the average tenure of clinical lab technologists. The number of openings for registered nurses per bed was also significantly higher for urban hospitals than for rural hospitals. Of concern to providers, educators and policy makers are the demand for nurses and allied health care staff, and respective shortage in the potential workforce to fill those needs. Utah universities and colleges typically graduate fewer students than the number of openings. Table 3 illustrates the number of openings reported by Utah hospitals and the number of graduates produced each year by Utah colleges and universities. Although this survey did not ask where Utah's nurses and allied health personnel went to school, records seem to show that nearly all of Utah's nursing population training for and earned their licenses in Utah. Utah Department of Professional Licensing data indicate that fewer than one percent of the nurses working in Utah qualified for their Utah license while living outside of the state (UMEC, 2002b). Not included in these data is the demand for nurses by home health agencies, long-term care facilities or public health departments; the need for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians by private labs; the demand for physical therapists by independent providers; and the high demand pharmacists by retail pharmacies. In other words, these data describe a very conservative estimation of demand. A recent report by the Utah Medical Education Council, for example, indicates that Utah needs 60 new pharmacists each year (UMEC, 2002a). DISCUSSION Responses to this study indicate turnover and vacancy rates among Utah's hospitals to be slightly better than the rest of the nation, yet significant staffing challenges presently exist for urban and rural Utah hospitals and they will get worse in the future. First, Utah hospitals now have more openings than graduating students can fill in nursing and respiratory therapy. While this study doesn't provide detail, industry experts report retail pharmacies and other private industry opportunities have created shortages and the need for pharmacists, clinical laboratory specialists, and radiologic technologists. This will continue into the future even though Utah schools turn away hundreds of qualified students every year due to a lack of faculty, classroom space and clinical training sites. This is consistent with national trends. Nursing schools across the nation turned away 5,823 qualified applicants in 2001. More than a third of those schools reported that they did so because of faculty shortages (AACN, 2001b.) Second, the Utah population and its health care workforce, like the rest of the nation, are aging. Government reports indicate the median age of Utah's population will increase from 27.6 in the year 2000, to 30.6 in the year 2030. The percentage of individuals 75 and older will grow from three percent in 2000 to five percent in 2030 (DEA, 2002). This aging population translates into an increased demand for health care and an increased demand for health care personnel. Particularly hard hit will be long-term care providers and hospitals. Data from this study indicate the workforce is also aging. At least 20 percent of key workers are 50 or older. The mean age of most of the workers reported in this study is between 35 and 40 years old. This translates into an even larger demand for future staffing as these older personnel retire. Third, the faculties of the Utah schools of health professions Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume LX 11 |