Pueblo's unemployment rate is declining. So why is its nursing shortage getting worse?

Pueblo's unemployment rate decreased in March, but one pivotal industry continued a downward trend that’s been spiraling more rapidly in recent months.

According to a monthly dashboard economic report from the city, Pueblo had 459 job openings for registered nurses in March, which was an increase from 419 in February and far above the 295 openings for nurses the city reported in November.

Workforce shortages in health care have been ongoing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in Pueblo, that shortage has disproportionately worsened in comparison to the “general trend in the U.S.,” according to economist Tatiana Bailey, who contracts for the city of Pueblo to produce its monthly economic report.

“I don’t think it’s because demand for health care in the region has declined,” Bailey wrote in April about the report's March findings. “It’s more likely that Pueblo is having a particularly difficult time with attrition of workers in that field and probably also experiencing difficulty in hiring health care workers overall. This is validated by the simple fact that over half of the top employers in Pueblo are health care facilities.”

Parkview Medical Center, Centura Health — which operates Pueblo's St. Mary Corwin Hospital — and Parkview Health System ranked first, third and fifth, respectively, on the list of local employers with the most job openings in March. The first two had median advertised salaries of more than $80,000, according to the report.

“At a minimum, there are ample opportunities for jobs, many of them at livable wages, within the health care field,” Bailey wrote.

Despite that, shortages remain and have strained staff, according to a COVID-19 impact study from the American Nurses Foundation.

That study, published in March 2022, reported that 60% of acute-care nurses in the United States at the time of publishing felt "burnt out" and 75% of respondents reported feeling "stressed, frustrated and exhausted." At least 52% reported that they want to leave the profession or were considering doing so because of "insufficient staffing" and work "negatively affecting their health and wellbeing."

Most nurses surveyed said their organization was experiencing a staffing shortage, which can impact patient care, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Among the “poor outcomes” that could come out of such a shortage are an increase in patients falling and a mortality rate 6% higher on units that are understaffed, among others.

Pueblo hospitals say shortages aren't dire, impacts to services minor

Poor outcomes from nursing shortages haven’t been the case at Parkview, according to Christie Velasco, its vice president of human resources. The hospital is “fully operational” from a services standpoint despite its staffing shortages, Velasco said, which are "steady" and haven't forced hospital administration into "panic mode."

However, Parkview has had challenges in some areas, such as longer wait times in the emergency room. To meet demand, it has employed about 100 travel nurses during the past year, exceeding its budget for that type of expense. The hospital does some out-of-state recruiting but nothing that would drastically change its staffing numbers.

Pre-pandemic, the number of travel nurses Parkview employed was typically around 25, Velasco said.

“Why we have as many travel nurses as we do is because we’re trying to do what’s right by our community and patients,” Velasco said.

Parkview currently has more than 50 registered nurses committed to work for the hospital once they pass certain requirements. Velasco noted that the return on investment for the multiple programs Parkview launched with local colleges and high schools has been strong and should alleviate some of the workforce shortage.

Parkview declined to share a staffing number when asked how many registered nurses it currently employs.

St. Mary-Corwin Hospital at this time has a "stable and solid" workforce and has minimal turnover among its group of registered nurses, according to CEO Mike Cafasso.

The hospital has 265 registered nurses on staff, which is similar to its pre-pandemic staffing level, and its volume of emergency room patients has increased over the past year, but Cafasso said the hospital has been "stable" in delivering services.

St. Mary-Corwin is starting to see the "fruits of its work" from efforts undertaken in recent years, Cafasso said. In 2018, the hospital laid off nearly 300 of its employees and it's begun to reestablish and grow some of its services, with Centura Health placing an emphasis on boosting employee retention.

"At Centura Health, a lot of work has been put on wage increases and staff engagement activities and work to do everything necessary and possible to retain quality people," Cafasso said.

Because of those wage increases, retention and the talent coming to the hospital through its partnership with Pueblo Community College, Cafasso said St. Mary-Corwin is in a "very good place."

More hospital news: Parkview Health System CEO Leslie Barnes announces retirement

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo nursing shortage continues to grow