BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – UVM Medical Center says they have reduced their dependence on traveling nurses. The state’s largest hospital — along with other facilities — spent upwards of $100 million at the height of the pandemic to address the nursing workforce shortage. Now, officials say reducing their ranks is a win-win for both cost savings and quality of care.
“We couldn’t have done it without them, but we also need to look at the long term for what’s best for Vermonters and our community, and that’s ensuring that we have permanent, compassionate, well-skilled staff that work here every day,” said UVMMC’s Sarah Hoffman.
It’s a goal the hospital has been working to reach. In May, the hospital employed 411 travel nurses. That number dropped to 245 by the end of last month — a 40 percent decrease.
Hoffman says the end result is a more consistent experience for patients and families and higher quality care. They’ve done it in part by enhancing their recruitment and retention process and by reducing their budget for travelers after a decision from health care regulators at the Green Mountain Care Board.
Some travelers have also become permanent. In fiscal year 2023 they converted 13 travelers and the next year doubled that number to 26.
“It was definitely hard to give up the travelers paycheck,” said Ben Alcorn, a UVMMC nurse who says he used to travel to multiple states. He says he ended up staying because of the stability, professional development, and good staff ratios. “The nice thing about travel nursing was that I got to see a bunch of different hospital systems and figure out what I liked and what I didn’t like. And I liked UVM, I decided to stay.”
Green Mountain Care Board Chair Owen Foster says the reduction is a positive step but there’s a lot more work to do at UVM as a whole.
“Can the expense growth get more in line with what we can afford,” He said. “And then I think more broadly, looking at making sure we’re supporting the systems around the hospital so that the care isn’t backed up in the hospitals.”
The nurses union says though the reduction in travelers is positive, the permanent nurses are now working more overtime to make up for the loss, and believe their recently negotiated contract with increased compensation has been a major factor in the positive recruitment and retention numbers.