Labor is running thin, so Centura Health is increasing incentives for nurses to make the job more attractive to prospective workers.

The Colorado-based health organization, which includes Penrose-St. Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs and encompasses 21,000 health care professionals across Colorado and western Kansas, is offering $30,000 signing bonuses for night shift nurses who join the company and work at least one year full or part time, according to a news release.

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“During this especially challenging time for the health care industry, it is critically important to us that we continue to recruit compassionate caregivers with fair, just and competitive compensation,” Brenda Simpson, doctor of nursing practice, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Centura, said in the release.

Job listings on Centura’s hiring site show an average pay range for various nursing positions of $30 to $50 an hour, which is approximately an annual full-time salary of $62,000 to $104,000.

The signing bonuses last until Jan. 31 and apply to hospital, emergency, urgent care and resource pool nursing positions, the release said.

If the nurse is a rehire, they must have been apart from Centura for more than six months, the release said.

The signing bonuses highlight the dire need of nurses and the difficulty retaining staff.

“The pandemic only exacerbated existing challenges across the health care industry for hiring nurses, and the field remains very competitive,” Kevin Massey, communication field adviser for Centura, wrote in an email to the Gazette.

“This is why we are going above and beyond to ensure we can recruit incredible caregivers to serve our communities and that, once they have joined our teams, they will thrive in their roles.”

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The hiring incentives come just a couple months since the system began to lay off 1% of its workforce this fall. Centura cited rising health care costs driven in part by inflation, supply chain issues and labor costs for the need to lay off workers amid financial hardship. Nursing positions were not a part of the cuts.

“We have never slowed our efforts to attract and retain clinical caregivers to serve our patients,” Massey wrote.

“We are focused on providing high-quality whole person care to our communities 24/7, which means we remain committed to recruiting the best and brightest minds and hearts in health care in spite of the ongoing challenges facing the health care industry and the economy.”

For existing workers, the system added a 3% pay increase in October as well as a cost-of-living increase for caregivers, the release said.

Beyond monetary support and incentives, Centura also offers resources including an Employee Assistance Program, Massey said; the program provides counseling and support for workers and their families in a field that’s prone to burnout.

“It is our mission and daily commitment to provide whole person care to our incredible caregivers as well as our patients,” Massey said.

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