ABSTRACT
Hospitals continue to experience negative margins, with hospital expenses decreasing slightly since the start of the pandemic, but not enough to address impacted volumes and revenues. As a result, issues regarding hospital and health system debt and financial sustainability weigh heavily on health care admini - strators. Hospital finances, and specifically, the management of bonds and debt, are of vital concern, particularly in light of the elimination of CARES Act funding and the forthcoming expiration of the federal Public Health Emergency COVID-19 plan. In this article and accompanying podcast episode, Nursing Economics Editorial Board Member Dr. Therese Fitzpatrick talks with leading health care expert Lisa Goldstein, MPA, about the rising pressures to maintain financial sustainability as hospital margins react to post-pandemic admissions and related adjustments.
ABSTRACT
In this dynamic discussion, Nancy Valentine, whose extensive leadership and scholarly work focuses on assessing and developing leadership strategies directed toward healing trauma in the work environment, and Nursing Economic$ Editorial Board Member Therese Fitzpatrick, identify factors involved in framing the business case for transition to a wellness orientation for healthcare organizations and strategies for creating a healthy environment. "There can be no doubt there will be a large COVID-19 effect on the size of the nursing workforce, which is already heading for a 10 million deficit. Even if only 10 to 15% of the current nursing population quits because of the COVID-19 Effect, we could have a potential shortfall of 14 million nurses by 2030, which is the equivalent of half the current nursing workforce. Such a shortfall would impact all healthcare services in the post-COVID-19 era to such an extent that I would argue the health of the nursing workforce could be the greatest determinant of the health of the world's population over the next decade" (ICN, 2021b, paras. 6-7).