Crosscut Now
Jan. 24, 2023 - Temp staffing costs strain WA hospitals
1/24/2023 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
'The whole thing is broken': Temp staffing costs strain WA hospitals.
Amid a retention crisis, rural hospitals turned to pricey travel-nurse agencies with little oversight or transparency. Now they need a way forward.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS
Crosscut Now
Jan. 24, 2023 - Temp staffing costs strain WA hospitals
1/24/2023 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Amid a retention crisis, rural hospitals turned to pricey travel-nurse agencies with little oversight or transparency. Now they need a way forward.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(dramatic music) - I'm Jay Martin Jr. in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.
Temp staffing costs are straining Washington hospitals.
Amid a retention crisis, many small or rural hospitals have had to turn to pricey national temporary staffing agencies to fill their urgent nursing needs, facing a tight market where they compete for workers against much larger facilities in metro areas.
Aberdeen's Harbor Regional has completely closed one of its medical surgical floors over staffing shortages and the mounting cost of temporary workers.
Temp staffing agencies operate with little direct oversight.
Lawmakers and hospital officials nationwide have increasingly called for more transparency from those agencies, passing price caps in some states or requesting investigations into alleged price gouging.
Washington officials say they continue to seek more accountability on these services.
I'm Jay Martin Jr. Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on Crosscut.com.
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Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS