Hospital Looking for Creative Ways to Fill Staffing Shortages

North Shore Health is having trouble filling job openings at the hospital and care center, so much so that management is exploring opportunities to bring in employees through immigration.

Openings that have been hard to fill are in Dietary, Housekeeping, and Care Center Nursing Assistants.

NSH Director Kimber Wraalstad said there are several workers at the hospital who have family members from other countries who might be interested in immigrating to Cook County and working for North Shore Health.

However, noted Wraalstad, this won’t help fill openings in the near term, if the idea is even feasible. Discussions are underway with two immigration attorneys to determine if this is a possible alternative for North Shore Health “knowing this is a one to two year process,” she said.

While North Shore Health Ambulance has recently added six new EMRs, hiring more staff is crucial. Currently there are five students taking an Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMTB) course. North Shore Health will arrange more classes “when we have a smattering of interested individuals,” Wraalstad said. Candidates can start individual classes online through North Shore Health as well. Anyone in the community willing to serve as an EMR or EMT-B can contact Tom Fleming, North Shore Health Ambulance Director at 218-387-3262 or Thomas. fleming@ nor thshorehealthgm.org for more information.