Baptist Health working to overcome nurse shortage

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - During the pandemic, many hospitals dealt with a shortage of nurses nationwide. In Little Rock, Baptist Health said it's a gap they're still trying to manage.

Officials with the hospital say so far, they have over 300 nursing vacancies they’re working to fill. They said they’re hoping several methods will help ease the large gap.

Baptist Health Chief Human Resources Officer Cathy Dickinson said the hospital has always had a shortage, but the pandemic helped amplify it.

“One thing was a lot of people just left the bedside and decided they were scared of it,” Dickinson said. “The other thing is a lot of nurses left to travel you know the pay was really good.”

To combat that, Dickinson said they have created more opportunities for scholarships for current employees and future ones.

“We’re offering a lot of scholarships as we go out to the colleges across the state,” Dickinson added. “We're also giving scholarships to our own internal employees who want to pursue a career in nursing, and we've seen that be a really good success.”