DUBOIS, PA–Imagine living in a town where the nearest doctor is hours away, and the local hospital is fighting just to keep its doors open. For millions of Americans, this isn’t a hypothetical scenario — it’s reality.
Right now, the United States is experiencing a healthcare staffing crisis, and rural communities are bearing the brunt of it.
“In many rural areas of Pennsylvania, including those in which Penn Highlands Healthcare has nine hospitals, a shortage of physicians, nurses and providers still exists,” said Steven M. Fontaine, CEO of Penn Highlands Healthcare. “Rural hospitals have always had challenges with recruitment and retention, but those challenges are even greater now.”
According to the National Rural Health Association, nearly 20% of Americans live in rural areas but only 9% of the nation’s physicians serve in rural communities. With regard to nurses, despite being the largest healthcare profession in the country, only 16% of registered nurses practice in rural areas. Additionally, approximately 12% of physician assistants and certified registered nurse practitioners, who help bridge the healthcare gap, practice in rural communities.
In Pennsylvania, the gap is even wider. The Pennsylvania Rural Health Transformation Plan shows that while roughly 1 in 5 Pennsylvanians live in a rural area, a mere 6.6% of the state’s healthcare workforce serves them, resulting in widespread shortages in primary care, behavioral health, maternal, oral and allied health fields.
These disparities leave rural communities with significantly lower patient-to-provider ratios compared to urban settings, which places stress on rural health care systems.
The result? Double-digit job vacancy rates and an alarming statistic that more than one-third of rural hospitals are at risk of closing within the next two to three years.
So, how do you fix a system under this much stress? You get creative.
“At Penn Highlands Healthcare, we are continually exploring and implementing new programs and strategies to support our employees and physicians,” said Fontaine. “We offer programs and enter into partnerships to help recruit new physicians, nurses and providers. Our health system also strives to retain our staff by making them feel valued.”
Here is a closer look at how Penn Highlands is rewriting the playbook.
The Hometown Advantage
- The “Bring Them Home” Program: Launched in 2017, this initiative tracks local students who head off to medical or nursing school. Penn Highlands stays in touch throughout their education and training, and encourages these “hometown kids” to come back and care for the community they grew up in.
- High School Patient Care Assistant Program: Partnering with DuBois Area High School, Penn Highlands’ Patient Care Assistant (PCA) program gives students six to eight weeks of training and supervised work experience, opening the door to healthcare careers before they even graduate.
- CNA Program: Penn Highlands offers a free, six-week Certified Nursing Assistant course to employees and members of the community. Students are paid while training.
Next-Gen Medical Education
- Graduate Medical Education Program: By training residents and fellows in Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Sports Medicine, Penn Highlands builds deep roots with young doctors. The proof? Many graduates choose to stay with the health system long-term.
- Real-World Medical School Training: Penn Highlands Healthcare serves as a clinical training site for students enrolled at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and will serve as a training site for Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s new College of Osteopathic Medicine. These collaborations give medical students hands-on experience in a rural healthcare setting.
Tuition Sponsorships and Guaranteed Jobs
Penn Highlands also has teamed up with local colleges and trade schools to provide nursing scholarships and clinical training.
- The health system sponsors tuition for select students attending Clearfield County Career and Technology Center’s Practical Nursing Program who sign an employment agreement with the health system.
- Penn Highlands Healthcare works in cooperation with Butler County Community College @ Brockway by providing operating funds to support increased nursing enrollment as well as expanded clinical space at Penn Highlands DuBois, where qualified staff members administer on-site instruction.
- Through an expanded partnership, Penn Highlands Healthcare and Mount Aloysius College offers students scholarship opportunities and guaranteed job placement for careers in nursing and radiography. Additionally, Penn Highlands and Mount Aloysius have launched a hybrid surgical technology program at Penn Highlands DuBois that includes online and in-person classes alongside dedicated financial support.
- Phlebotomy classes are offered in partnership with Brockway Center for Arts and Technology. The program includes classroom and online learning.
Broadening Horizons
Penn Highlands also looks globally and offers immediate perks.
- International Nursing: The health system works with staffing agencies to recruit foreign-educated nurses to fill critical staffing gaps. Candidates generally must have a registered nurse license and acute care experience.
- Signing Bonuses: Penn Highlands Healthcare offers signing bonuses at its nine hospitals, depending on the specific need for positions.
Fixing the rural healthcare crisis won’t happen overnight, but proactive solutions can help reverse the trend.
“Penn Highlands Healthcare is confident that by forming these partnerships and offering staffing programs, we will attract knowledgeable and skilled healthcare professionals to provide top-quality care,” said Fontaine.
By investing in students, supporting staff and keeping hometown talent close to home, Penn Highlands Healthcare isn’t just filling vacancies but also securing the future of rural healthcare.
