Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH) is leading the way to increase healthcare providers in Kittitas County.
The healthcare workforce shortage is not a new concern, but one that is on top of mind for our industry. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the expected number of nursing school graduates did not expect to exceed the number retiring. Add the stress of the pandemic and the emergency staffing needs for hospitals across the nation, and the problem has only been exasperated. Healthcare workers now have many options as healthcare systems across the country are desperate to fill staffing gaps. It is increasingly competitive to find and retain workers. KVH has worked hard on retention efforts for staff- offering free fitness and art classes, career development programs, decreasing benefits costs, and most recently implementing an $18 organizational minimum wage.
But is it enough to attract new healthcare professionals? In a rural community with limited education programs to develop healthcare workers, you aren’t just recruiting to your organization, you are recruiting to a new community or hoping people are willing to commute. This is why KVH took a different approach. Instead of waiting for applicants to happen to find us for opportunities, we are building our own workforce. This not only helps us recruit new staff but helps us develop and retain our own.
KVH now offers three apprentice programs with paid on the job training. The Medical Assistant program, which trains students to provide direct medical care in an outpatient clinic setting, is a year-long program where students work with a preceptor to provide supervised patient care with independent coursework. This has been a highly successful program that takes approximately one year to complete. To date, 50 students have completed the program and are employed at KVH. The pharmacy tech program is a 520-hour clinical rotation. Actual completion time is dependent on the pace of the individual. And, most recently, KVH just got approved to be a training site for a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). KVH will be offering paid training for this six-week course to prepare trainees to apply for Patient Care Technician positions in our inpatient hospital units and Home Health.
We aren’t waiting. We are building our workforce, one employee at a time. Our patients need quality, trained healthcare professionals and our employees need an employer invested in their future.
Manda Scott, SPHR, MAOL, joined KVH in December 2019 as the Chief Human Resources Officer. With a background in healthcare and nonprofit, Manda’s focus at KVH includes communication, culture, and talent development. She oversees all HR functions for KVH staff, including recruiting and employment, benefits, wellness, labor negotiations, and staff development.