[A]fter a number of nurses and other staff members resigned following pay cuts at Springfield Hospital, which is struggling to stay financially afloat, executives said that some employees will be getting raises.
Nurses recently received a $3 per hour raise while licensed practical nurses, nurse assistants, medical assistants and mental health workers received a $1 per hour increase.
Interim CEO Mike Halstead said the raises were necessary to recruit and maintain employees. “The last few weeks we had a number of RNs leave,” Halstead said.
The hospital employs about 500 people. Halstead said about 35 people, including 20 nurses, have voluntarily resigned since Springfield Hospital terminated 27 positions and reduced pay by 4 percent in February to combat deep financial challenges.
“We knew there would be some people leave when we announced we’d have to roll their salaries back,” Halstead said. “We didn’t anticipate the additional 35 people who have left.”
A recent financial audit found the hospital lost $14 million in two years. The hospital received an $800,000 loan from the state in January, matching a loan from Berkshire Bank, to keep the facility from closing immediately.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, unfortunately,” Halstead said. “I can’t change too much about that right now. There are some people that are nervous about the future and the uncertainty causes them to look elsewhere. It’s a tough time right now for human resources.”
BlueWater Emergency Partners, the company positioned to take over emergency services at Springfield in April, is also facing recruitment challenges. The company has yet to fill three of eight positions with less than a month before its contract begins.
“Recruiting advanced practice providers has gone slower than we had hoped,” said Bluewater CEO Jay Mullen. “Several candidates have mentioned their concerns regarding the hospital’s financial condition.”
Mullen said there are openings for a physician and two advanced practice providers (either physician assistants or registered nurses).
“The negative attention that Springfield Hospital has received in the press has understandably concerned potential recruits,” Mullen said.
The situation at Springfield has also concerned officials at every level of state government, including Gov. Phil Scott, who called it “a very serious situation that requires immediate attention” when the financial issues became apparent in December.
Maine-based Bluewater is taking over emergency services after the hospital terminated its 40-year relationship with Emergency Services of New England to save money.
Mullen said it takes about six months for health care providers to become licensed and vetted to work in Vermont.
Bluewater will use interim staff from other Bluewater facilities and hire traveling employees, which cost about 30 percent more than permanent staff, until a team is in place in Springfield.
“All the risks of employment are on Bluewater,” Mullen said, adding that healthcare recruitment is a nationwide challenge, which has made it increasingly difficult to find employees.
“There’s an unbelievable shortage of health care professionals,” Mullen said.
Meredith Tips-McLaine, a nurse care coordinator, who is leaving Springfield in August to attend graduate school, said many of her colleagues have resigned for higher pay elsewhere.
Tips-McLaine doesn’t know if the salary increases will entice people to stay.
“It’s hard to know what’s going to be a motivator for other people,” she said.
Halstead, the interim CEO, said salary increases bring the hospital to market rates.
The administration hopes to replace about 75 percent of the people who have voluntarily resigned at Springfield. Halstead’s priority is hiring providers who give direct care to patients.
“The hope is at some point I’m going to be able to re-establish the salaries we took away from all the employees,” Halstead said.
