Nurses Need Apply

BY DWAINE HEBDA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON MASTERS

WHEN MORGAN JONES RELOCATED TO ARKANSAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE 13-YEAR NURSING VETERAN DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT A GEM AWAITED HER IN BAXTER REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. BUT SHE’D DONE ENOUGH RESEARCH TO HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA.

“I’ve been a nurse since 2013, and I was a CNA four years prior to that,” said the Texas native. “Everybody that I’ve run into here, they’ve always had a smile on their face, they’ve always got a positive attitude, and they’ve all been so willing to help me and make me feel welcome. I’d probably say on a 12-hour shift I would be approached, like, every hour, ‘Morgan, do you need help? Is there anything I can do for you?’

“Numerous staff members have been helpful and very supportive, and the management is the same way. I’ve never encountered that like I have at Baxter Regional.”

There are very good reasons why a newcomer such as Jones would be welcomed and nurtured in this way. One, it’s embedded in the company culture to get newcomers up to speed quickly and to support every employee’s unique ability to contribute to the team’s overall success.

And two, Jones represents one of the most precious commodities in healthcare right now, as do her peers, given that nurses are in shorter supply than at any other time in U.S. history. This has pushed many hospitals nationwide into crisis mode, working overtime to tend to existing nurses and sparing no expense to attract new ones to meet staffing needs.

Across the nation, the stories are all the same: America needs nurses. A data study released in May by the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences noted RNs were the fifth-most in-demand job in the U.S. in February as vacancies piled up from coast to coast. Arkansas reported 36,700 RNs on the job in 2020, which put it in the middle of the pack nationally on a population percentage basis at 12.2 nurses per 1,000 residents.

Kim Beavers, Baxter Regional’s HR recruiter

“We see a lot of burnout; the past two years have been very emotionally distressing and stressful,” said Kim Beavers, Baxter Regional’s HR recruiter. “If people were on the verge of retiring, they see this as an excellent time to go ahead and do it.

But since then, the unyielding mental and physical demands of the pandemic and the lure of other opportunities have steadily eroded those numbers.

“The other thing that’s really hitting us right now is losing nurses to traveling positions because unfortunately, there are other regional hospitals in our region of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas that are utilizing travelers to a greater extent than we are. They are offering premium pay, which appeals to some of our people because they can travel to different hospitals around here, make a lot more money per hour and still live in the area.”

Terryl Coffel, a step-down nurse in Baxter Regional’s cardiac unit, joined the hospital in February after two years spent with a traveling nurse agency. She said her reasons for taking the job were “purely financial,” but her decision to join Baxter Regional runs much deeper than a paycheck.

Terryl Coffel, a step-down nurse in Baxter Regional’s cardiac unit.

Photo by James Moore

“When I started doing (travel nursing) I really did like it, but I just got so burned out from doing different assignments and was very lonely from traveling,” she said. “I actually worked at Baxter Regional as my first job out of nursing school 11 years ago, and I really liked it. So, when I canceled my contract, I immediately started applying for jobs at Baxter Regional, and I am so happy I did.

“Having worked at so many different hospitals, including much bigger ones, I can tell you Baxter Regional is handsdown the best hospital that I have ever worked for. The administration is so supportive of the nurses. I often tell people I wish everybody could see Baxter Regional through my eyes so that they would understand how good it is here. I love how much Baxter Regional interacts with the community, and I love that the community interacts through all the volunteers. It just makes me so very happy to work here.”

Beavers said given the current job market, the hospital leaves no stone unturned in recruitment, right down to offering two-year sign-on bonuses of between $5,000 and $15,000 depending on experience, as well as $2,000 referral bonuses offered to existing employees who refer new hires.

The hospital has also launched creative new programs to help develop its own homegrown talent, including having paid out $600,000 in scholarships to nurses wanting to go back to school, and kicking off a Licensed Practical Nurse Residency Program for new LPNs.

“This will allow us to hire new grad LPNs for acute care areas as well as clinics,” Beavers said. “We are in the planning stages of the residency, which will be an awesome opportunity for LPNs to work in an acute care environment while bridging to RN, if that is their desire.

“The new program will be similar to the RN Residency Program in that it is all about supporting them in their transfer from a student nurse into a practicing nurse who feels confident and competent in their practice, working one to one with a preceptor so they know they are giving safe, quality care to all of our patients.”

Baxter Regional also supports an even more ambitious program assisting team members who are struggling with student loan debt.

“An awesome program we started in 2017 is a student loan repayment program,” Beavers said. “RNs are always included in it, and sometimes we include other areas like therapy and different things like that. Employees in good standing apply for funds they put toward the principal of their student loan, anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 per year, and once eligible they can apply every year if they want. I cannot imagine if somebody would have helped me out like that after college.”

For now, Beavers is the hospital’s sole HR recruiter, responsible for staying on top of a headcount of 1,850 employees across all departments. One of the current vacancies is for another recruiter, who when hired, will allow her to focus solely on increasing nursing numbers. Until then, she relies on extensive legwork to colleges and job fairs, online recruiting and most importantly, good word of mouth to pique people’s interest in joining the only Magnet-designated hospital in the region.

“Our Magnet designation has gotten us calls from people in Georgia, Utah and other areas of the country,” she said. “I had one from Georgia say, ‘Oh my gosh! I’ve always wanted to work in a Magnet hospital, and you’re there and you have it. I didn’t even realize until I looked on your website.’

“I just talked to a woman, and she and her family are moving here from Utah. They have friends in the area, and she contacted us because of our care quality and our safety. She wants to go to a quality, safe hospital. Knowing we have that Magnet recognition and knowing we have a good culture, she flew in herself, met all of us and accepted a position that day.”

As for Morgan Jones, who joined the hospital in October, the proof’s in the pudding when it comes to a desirable work environment, both inside the hospital and throughout the community. On both of those measurements, her decision to join Baxter Regional has been a good one.

“The community is a lot like the hospital,” she said. “Everywhere I go, whether it’s to a gas station or a grocery store or anything, everybody is respectful and friendly, holding the door for you. Everyone I’ve met is so nice and provided excellent customer service. I’ve never run into anybody who was rude or anything. It’s not just the culture of the hospital; it’s the Mountain Home community as a whole.”