WI health care system dealing with worker shortage

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - A new report released Tuesday says the health care system in Wisconsin is seeing growing issues with its workforce.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association released its 2023 Health Care Workforce Report, which highlights data trends and analysis of the health care workforce. According to the report, Wisconsin’s population has continued to age, leading to many people leaving the workforce, creating high job vacancy rates.

Christina Flisram, Member of the Recruitment and Retention Strategic Workteam at Gundersen Health System, says a new generation of health care workers is bringing in new issues as well.

“We’re seeing a lot of individuals come forward that want work to fit into their life versus life fitting into work, which is a little bit of a historical mentality that people have had with their careers in the past. And I don’t know that this is a bad change. It’s just something that is important for us to adapt and make sure that we’re addressing,” Flisram said.

Flisram says a recent increase in violence towards health care workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused issues with the hiring and retention of staff.

Copyright 2023 WEAU. All rights reserved.