The employment ad in the Cook County News- Herald and online says it all, there are a lot of openings at North Shore Health.
With 14 openings available, there are plenty of opportunities to pick from. With 112 full-time employees and a total of 150, those openings account for about 10 percent of the workforce.
Needed is a director of nursing, a registered nurse, an LPN, two radiology technologists, a dietary aide, a worker for housekeeping/ laundry, a physical therapist, a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) and so on.
But Cook County isn’t alone in having difficulty attracting health care employees.
“North Shore Health isn’t any different than other health care organization in northeastern Minnesota, state-wide Minnesota or nationally with regard to attracting employees,” said North Shore Health Director Kimber Wraalstad.
“I have attended several meetings where the state demographer has talked about the workforce challenges we, as a state, are beginning to face because of the age of our population, the age of our workforce and declining labor force. I recently read an article about the concerns of the construction industry in Minnesota, and we know the Hospitality Industry in Cook County is challenged.”
Young people who are planning careers will find plenty of opportunities and good pay in the field. Average annual wages in 2017 for our region were $48,100, which was $5,000 more than the average annual salary across all industries in the area.
As far as the wage scale at North Shore Health, Wraalstad replied, “When North Shore Health looks at our pay rates compared to statewide averages we are very competitive, so I don’t believe pay is our major issue.
“We have unique challenges because of our location; not everyone wants to live two hours from a Walmart/Target. We also repeatedly hear concerns about housing, both affordability, and availability. A group (North Shore Health, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, ISD-166, and Cook County) has spoken with the Cook County/ Grand Marais EDA to explore options regarding workforce housing.
“Those conversations are just beginning and won’t address the immediate concerns, but hopefully will help in the future,” added Wraalstad.
Shelly Starkey, North Shore Health Human Resources Director said there are other issues as well that complicate hiring, and they were discussed at the Northeast Regional Healthcare Workforce Summit.
“We do not have a public transportation system and due to the large area of Cook County, and where employees live, it is not reasonable that they can always be expected to bike or walk, and this limits the ability to work at North Shore Health,” she said.
Also, she added, “At times we are limited in how flexible we can be with work schedules as we have union contracts and are a 24/7 operation; this also can limit the attractiveness of working in a healthcare facility.
“In addition, it may be challenging for a spouse to find viable work in Cook County that would make it attractive for a couple to move here. The pay/benefits may be particularly enticing for one, but not necessarily for the other, therefore the couple deciding that employment in a larger area is more suitable for their financial viability.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), another reason for an employee shortage here in Cook County and across the seven-county northland is that the health care workforce is aging and beginning to enter its retirement years, so more young people need to be trained to fill those positions.
And to get one’s credentials for many of these jobs, one needs to go to school, which is something Wraalstad addressed.
“Another concern is the educational programs – Lab, Imaging, Nursing, etc. – aren’t generating the number of graduates as in the past. We (Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, Grand Portage Health Services, and North Shore Health) have also been meeting with Cook County Higher Education about Nursing Education.
“I don’t believe there is one short-term answer to the concerns raised. I think it will take many different ideas and solutions as we all address workforce issues,” said Wraalstad.
Statewide 17 percent of all workers are employed in the health care and social assistance field. But in our seven county region, that number jumps to 24 percent, making health care the largest industry in the northeastern Minnesota region.
Meanwhile North Shore Health will keep its help wanted sign out. Cook County’s median age is 51.8 years, second only to Aitkin County. Finding workers to fill open jobs in coming years will be crucial to the county to meet the needs of our aging population.
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