Need a healthcare job? Medical sector leads local economy in hiring amid the pandemic
A worker shortage remains a universal, nagging concern shared by Bradenton-area employers as the economy gains steam from the worst days of the pandemic.
Help Wanted signs seem to be everywhere for restaurant workers, A/C techs, tow truck drivers, convenience store clerks, screen printers.
Most concerning is the critical shortage of healthcare workers.
Medical workers represent the largest single sector of job postings, said Anthony Gagliano, vice president for Business and Economic Development for CareerSource Suncoast.
Between Manatee and Sarasota counties,there are 4,544 registered nurse openings, and 2,017 openings for licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
On top of that, there are 7,670 openings for nursing, psychiatric and home health aids, 1,245 openings for occupational therapy and physical therapy assistants and aides, and 5,789 openings for other healthcare support occupations.
Finding workers a nationwide problem
Among those trying to keep up with the demand are University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, State College of Florida, and Manatee Technical College.
“We are getting calls from employers all the time. We fill the position as soon as we graduate the student,” said Maura Howl, MTC spokeswoman.
In addition to nurses, there is a big demand for dental assistants, pharmacy techs and optometric assistants, Howl said.
“The demand is high for everything that we offer,” she said. “We are trying to make things easier for people to get into healtcare by offering hybrid programs.”
The hybrid programs include a mix of in-class and online instruction, she said.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota County’s largest employer with about 7,000 workers, has openings for about 1,000 healthcare workers, hospital spokeswoman Kim Savage said. About 700 are clinical positions, and of those, nearly 200 are for registered nurses.
“Fortunately, we have remained fully staffed throughout the pandemic, thanks to our core staff and local per diem staff who have voluntarily worked many extra shifts over the past year and a half to care for all the patients in our hospital and outpatient centers,” Savage said. “When volumes reached its highest peaks last year, we also relied on contracted nurses who supplement our team during peak season each year.
“That said, we have had to step up our recruitment efforts this year — we have doubled the number of openings we typically have at this time of year, not because of the pandemic, but because we are planning to open and staff a new, 110-bed acute care hospital in Venice and a new 56-bed oncology and surgical tower on our Sarasota campus this fall, she said.
Blake Medical Center has agreements with several nursing colleges and schools, including a partnership with Galen College of Nursing.
“We are fortunate to have excellent local educational institutions such as State College of Florida and Manatee Technical College, and we value our partnerships with them to help develop, train and hopefully retain local talent.” Blake spokeswoman Lisa Kirkland said in an email.
“We also provide new graduates with a bridge between nursing school and their career journey with our Nurse Extern, StaRN, and HCA Nurse Residency programs. HCA Healthcare built a $2 million Center for Clinical Advancement in Brandon which allows nurses to receive additional training and specialty training in a simulation environment as we support and encourage our nurses to earn advanced degrees and certifications throughout their career,” Kirkland said.
Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center have many staff openings.
“We are supplementing our vacancies with agency staff in order to keep our patient ratios at an adequate level. Healthcare is no different than other professions, we have needs across the board in many areas. We continue to staff to best serve the needs of our patients,” the hospitals said in a joint statement.
Usha Menon, dean of the USF College of Medicine, said that there has been a nationwide shortage of nurses for the past decade and that there will be a need for 1.1 million new nurses in 2022.
USF Sarasota-Manatee has doubled the size of its nursing cohort to 80 to help produce more fully fledged nurses, Menon said.
During the pandemic, the nursing shortage worsened with with some nurses retiring or leaving the profession and others taking higher paying jobs elsewhere, Menon said.
USF has been working to expand its program in spite of — what else? — a faculty shortage.
Matthew Connell, dean of nursing and health professions at State College of Florida, said that SCF responds to community needs and works with hospitals and healthcare agencies to develop academic programs.
The future is bright for anyone completing a health-care course at SCF, he said.
”Our grads are definitely finding jobs. We have a crop of current employees who are retiring. We are having to find that next future crop of employees. The critical need for health-care workers is really nationwide,” Connell said.
On the clinical side, SCF offers nursing, radiography, physical therapy assistant, occupational therapy assistant and dental hygiene instruction. On the nonclinical side, SCF offers health services manager and health services administrator courses.
“We are always looking for ways to grow the program based on community need,” he said.
Community hiring needs
At the height of the pandemic, Manatee County had an unemployment rate of about 14 percent as companies shed workers, and reduced or restricted operations.
In June, Manatee County’s unemployment rate was 5 percent, up from 4.2 percent in May, but down from 9.7 percent in June a year ago. That contrasts with a 3.1 percent unemployment rate when the economy was humming along before the pandemic. Statewide, the most recent unemployment figures show that 5 percent of the workforce is out of a job.
For anyone seeking a job, there may have never been a better time to look with so many companies hiring.
Plus, Amazon is opening a 321,244-square-foot distribution center on 55 acres at 2200 Tallevast Road in southern Manatee County. The facility is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the area.
About those other jobs that you see advertised on signs along local roads? The Manatee County School District, one of Manatee County’s largest employers, has openings for many of the same kind of jobs.
To help close the gap, the district will hold on-site interviews for job applicants during 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 27, at the Wakeland Support Center, 1812 27th St. E., Bradenton.
Candidates attending the school district hiring event will have the opportunity to interview with representatives and complete job applications for open positions such as teachers, school bus drivers, bus attendants, cafeteria managers and food service workers, head custodians and custodial, lawn maintenance, HVAC, electrician, warehouse drivers, electronics security techs, roofers and vehicle mechanics.
Applicants should bring personal identification, Social Security number and high school/college transcripts (if available) to the event. To view a list of all open positions, visit ManateeSchools.net, and click on “careers.”
For anyone seeking a job, visit CareerSource Suncoast at https://careersourcesuncoast.com/ or the Manatee Chamber of Commerce at https://business.manateechamber.com/jobs.
