High cost of living, no housing discouraging nurses from VI- Hodge-Penn
This fact became public information at a public consultation meeting for health care professionals, dentists, massage therapists, psychologists, and health insurance agencies at the Breezeway, Central Administration Complex on January 11, 2018.
At least four high ranking officials of the BVIHSA alluded to the staff depletion, especially nurses. They were Chief Executive Officer of BVIHSA Ms Paula G. Chester-Cumberbatch, Chief Medical Officer Dr Irad Potter, Dr Harlan O. Vanterpool and Director of Nursing Ms Gretchen Hodge-Penn.
It was Ms Hodge-Penn who said recruiting, especially nurses, for the BVIHSA has always been a major challenge because of the long drawn out process that applies.
High cost of living discouraging
"Since Irma it's become even worse. Since Irma some have declined to come and work here because of the fact that cost of living as they compare it (with theirs and other countries), it is not going to make it."
The other issue that compromises the importation of nurses is the housing challenges. "We don't have residence (housing) to provide for then so why should they leave their country to come to ours?" Hodge-Penn asked rhetorically.
A solution to the problem, according to Ms Chester-Cumberbatch, is to have nurses trained at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC).
This idea was supported by Dr Vanterpool and Ms Hodge-Penn. According to Dr Vanterpool, those that have left the Territory post Irma are not likely to return, at least not within the next few years.
Hospital accreditation could be jeopardised
A senior medical staff also alluded to the fact that the shortage of nurses also puts Peebles Hospital's accredition in jeopardy.
When the BVIHSA hired Ms Chester-Cumberbatch to the CEO position and not Dr Irad Potter, one of their claims was that they wanted someone who had the know-how and experience in hospital accreditation.
And according to Ms Chester-Cumberbatch, the lack of medical personnel at Peebles Hospital is to the extent where some departments are now being manned by one person, a far cry from what existed pre Hurricane Irma. "We need a sort of push where the H. Lavity Community College is concerned for the training of allied health staff..."
"It is vital that something is done. There should be coordination in terms of our education sector for the health sector...The health services are personnel driven and unfortunately we had a few resignations post hurricanes and, given the challenges for us to attract and retain new staff, losing one person is in itself devastating," stressed CEO Chester-Cumberbatch.
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18 Responses to “High cost of living, no housing discouraging nurses from VI- Hodge-Penn ”
Men could be a significant recruitment pool in the future but we have to find ways to overcome the stigma to our young men.We need qualified persons to take the helm. In the meantime it is imperative that the concentration on nurturing the existing talent within the medical circle is pumped up. Not losing staff that are happy and motivated is even more important now. Don't throw away what you have if you're not sure of what you're getting. Let's work together and build a first class medical service for our people with our people.
In the long-term, the seeds must be planted to attract locals to and retain them in the medical profession, eg, nurses. Further, HLSCC must be enlisted in delivering high quality medical training for nurses and other medical professionals. HLSCC must be in the forefront of work force development and skills training. The community supports HLSCC so HLSCC must in turn show a positive return on tax payers investment by delivering outcomes for them.
In the short-term, until it (BVI) can meet its nursing needs locally, it has to compete with external locales in recruiting nurses. Compensation is key factor in recruiting; the best and brighest nurses can earn more outside of the territory. Consequently, the BVI has to increase its compensation package to be able to compete relatively for nurses. Moreover it will take more than money to retain nursing and other professionals; the working environment, reward and recognition, appreciation for their services, job enrichment and enlargement.......etc are important factors in the recruiting and retaining challenge. Further, though the hurricanes may have reduce the housing inventory, in time, the demand for housing will boost the supply. In the interim, creative solutions are needed for addressing the housing shortage, ie, housing allowances (local and external), temporary housing arrangements.......etc. Well, in regards to the rising cost of living, this is a big challenge. Achieving price stability will be a major challenge. Prices increase but rarely decrease. Furthemore, the BVI is a small and remote location and has to import almost everything, ie, food, furnishings, appliances, bedding, electronics gadgets, construction materials, clothing, equipment, automobiles, supplies .......etc. Transportaion, duty......etc contribute to the high cost of products and services. The BIG ??? is despite the high import can prices be lower? That said residents must be willing to pay more for affordable, accessible and available high quality health care. They also must be fierce in demanding responsible and accountability.