Health care forum brings nursing shortage to light - Dayton Business Journal:

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More than 60 people attended the DaytonBusiness Journal's Business of Workforce forum Tuesday to listeb and interact with panelists as they detailed the triala and triumphs of healthg care's changing employee base. Panelists includec Dr. Keith Bricking, associate medical director and medicalk education directorat ; Dave Collins, dean of life and healtgh sciences for ; Leslie Hoying-Kantner, nurse recruitedr for and Stacey Lawson, human resources director at . Panelists emphasizexd the nursing shortagein Dayton, and discussed training programss and initiatives within hospitals used to recruit nursesz to the area.
But along with the shortage ofnew nurses, the panelistas said there is also a need to retai n nurses and recruit experienced professionals back into the industry. Lawso n said the nursing shortage remains the primary problem the health careindustryg faces. As more nurses retire, the country's populatio continues to age and requirwmore care, but with fewer nurses to suppor that care, hospitals have to think of new ways to recruit and retainm nurses to fill the gap. Registered nursesd are projected to generateabouft 587,000 new jobs durin g the 2006 to 2016 period, accordinfg to the latest numbers projected by the .
At Good Samaritahn Hospital alone, Lawson said there are 85 open nursinh positions at anygiven time. To work to fill that gap, panelistse agreed the health care industry in the area will need to focuxson Dayton's high points to bring people in. Kantnert said with the proximity of Columbuw and Cincinnati to Dayton presents a problem to recruiterse who need to give potential employees reason tochoose Dayton. Those reasons are she said, but it takes promotion to get theword out. "uI think we could do a better jobpromotingv Dayton, Ohio," Kantner said. "It's a great placed to live, and I just don't think we promot it enough.
" It will take a mix of recruiting positive promotion for Dayton and an emphasis on trainintthe region's workforce to meet the area'sz need. Panelists at the forum -- held at the Crownre Plaza hotel in downtownmDayton -- were confident that shouldr those things work together, Dayton'ds hospitals and medical offices will be able to provide enough quality care to Because in the end, the panelistsd agreed bringing people to the area is abouty environment more than salary. Lawson "At the end of the day, thos who choose to stay, stay because of the cultur and because ofthe environment.
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