Lancaster County offers student loan forgiveness to attract nurses
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) -While state facilities raised pay for nurses in 24/7 corrections facilities, Lancaster County is trying to compete offering student loan forgiveness as they try and recruit desperately needed nurses.
The Mental Health Crisis Center is where law enforcement take people to be involuntary held due to mental health or substance abuse crises. They can accommodate up to 16 patients and while, so far they haven’t had to reduce capacity because of short staffing, they are stretching the staff they do have thin.
“The nursing shortage was tough pre-COVID let alone now,” said Scott Etherton - Director of the Mental Health Crisis Center.
For more than six months, Etherton has been trying to hire a full-time registered nurse with no luck.
“It’s been harder to staff than ever before and I’ve worked here for a while,” said Etherton.
The facility serves patients experiencing extreme mental health or substance abuse concerns. County Commissioner Crista Yoakum said it takes a special person, it’s why they’re offering up to $75,000 in student loan forgiveness to registered nurses who can sign on.
“We need to get people in the door because we need someone now,” said Yoakum. “But this will also build up that longevity, keep talented people around for a while.”
They said the shortage hasn’t impacted patient care, but it’s costing tax payers. The county paid out nearly $90,000 in overtime pay during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. That’s a 53% increase from the previous two years and so far this fiscal year they’ve paid $53,000 in seven months.
It also takes a toll on the staff they do have.
“Along with trying to cover more and more hours our nurses have been moving from overnight to day shift, sharing that load,” said Etherton. “It leads to burnout.”
The pay range for the RN positions they’re hiring is between $31 and $40 an hour. This is slightly lower than similar positions with the state, which is one of the reasons the county believes they’re struggling to hire. They’re hoping the loan forgiveness will be enough to offset that without increasing the burden on tax payers.
