Main Line Health’s Nursing Vacancy Rate below State Average

Friday, July 28, 2006

BRYN MAWR, PA - Main Line Health's nursing retention and recruitment efforts continue to be successful five years after developing an aggressive long-term strategy to meet the challenges of a nursing shortage affecting hospitals nationwide.

In the past two years alone Main Line Health hired 225 new graduate nurses and recruited an additional 100 experienced nurses. At the end of June 2006, the average nurse vacancy rate at the system's acute care hospitals of Bryn Mawr, Lankenau and Paoli was 5.5%. The Hospital Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) recently reported the statewide vacancy rate at 7.8%.

Individually, Paoli's nurse vacancy rate is 1.1 %; Bryn Mawr's rate is 5.7 percent; and Lankenau's rate is 7.8 percent. The acute care hospitals represent 2,000 registered and licensed practical nurses.

Main Line Health's positive results in retaining and recruiting nursing staff is a reflection of a strategy developed in 2001 to respond to a 12 percent vacancy rate in its own nursing staff and amid the dire predictions of national shortages.

Main Line Health formed a Nursing Summit Group of nursing executives, human resource personnel, and nurse educators to devise and implement an initial three year strategic plan incorporating a number of creative retention and recruitment strategies. The plan, which the group continues to revise and update annually, included a leading strategy to attain Magnet Status, the nation's highest award for recognizing nursing excellence.

In October 2005, the goal was achieved and Magnet™ designation was awarded system wide to Main Line Health's Nursing Departments at Bryn Mawr, Lankenau and Paoli Hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Of some 6,000 hospitals nationwide, currently only 206 have been granted Magnet status. The three Main Line Health hospitals bring to eight the number of hospitals in Pennsylvania honored by the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program.

According to Barbara Tachovsky, Chief Nursing Officer for Main Line Health and President of Paoli Hospital, a Magnet designated hospital is known to attract highly qualified nurses.

"The ANCC's Magnet recognition program is very highly respected among nurses, and we are absolutely thrilled that our hospitals have this important stamp of approval," she explained. "Main Line Health has always prided itself in the quality of its nursing practice, and being Magnet hospitals validates what our patients already know: Every day, we deliver excellence in nursing care."

At the typical Magnet hospital, patient outcomes are excellent and nurses have a high level of job satisfaction, low turnover, an appropriate way to resolve grievances, and are involved in collecting data and making decisions about patient care. There is open communication between nurses and other members of the health care team and an appropriate personnel mix to attain the highest patient outcomes.

"Expanding our efforts to attract new nurses has not only had a significant impact on our vacancy rate, but also on patient care," added Tachovsky. "We are no longer closing any beds due to staffing. No operating rooms or procedure rooms are closed. We are using fewer agency nurses. The bottom line is that more patients are receiving care from a consistent group of Main Line Health nurses, which translates to better care and more personalized attention."

About Main Line Health

Founded in 1985, Main Line Health focuses on cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, and women's health, in addition to offering a comprehensive range of health services. Main Line Health consists of three acute care hospitals -- Bryn Mawr, Lankenau, and Paoli -- and six other institutions, including Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, providing programs for patients with disabilities; Great Valley Health, a network of physician practices; and Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, which studies diseases of aging.

Learn More About the Main Line Health System!

Published: 7-28-2006

Frieda Schmid
Manager Media Relations
484-476-3311
schmidtf@mlhs.org