Mahoning and Shenango Valley hospitals seek new recruits during career fair at Choffin Career and Technical Center
MAHONING & SHENANGO VALLEYS - For the last few years, there has been a high demand for healthcare professionals around Mahoning and Shenango Valley.
More than a dozen hospitals and healthcare facilities attended a career fair at Choffin Career and Technical Center on Tuesday. Their hope was to attract students from surgical technology and nursing programs to their company.
Several hospitals, including Mercy Health , Cleveland Clinic, and Salem Regional, told 21 News they are in need of more medical professionals.
Many hospitals, like the Cleveland Clinic, are not fully staffed, so they are using financial incentives. to recruit surgical technologists.
"For the surgical techs we do have loan repayments and then we also have relocation assistance for them." Jessica Mitchner, client recruiter for the Cleveland Clinic said.
Other hospitals like Sharon and Salem Regional reported that their staffing numbers are not ideal and they are offering sign-on bonuses for nurses ranging from $4,000 to $20,000.
One UPMC Jameson and Horizon hospital official said that having a low workforce in healthcare can result in postponed surgical procedures and appointments.
"It decreases the opportunity for patients in the community to come to our hospitals and [I am] not just speaking of UPMC, but across the nation," Jamie Murray, operating room unit director for UPMC Jameson and Horizon said.
