Southwest Florida hospitals offer sign-up bonuses for hiring nurses

FORT MYERS

At the start of the pandemic, nurses were laid off as hospitals were forced to cut back on the treatments and surgeries they could perform.

Now there is an urgent need to bring these nurses back and the hospitals in the area are hoping that major check-ins work.

The nurses were burned out and exhausted and fearful that they could easily contract COVID-19, so it’s no surprise many of them stopped during the pandemic.

Knowing what they know would more money make them return?

“That’s it. I don’t want to be exposed. I don’t want to expose my children and grandchildren,” said Christina Smith, a hospice nurse.

Smith, who is also a mother, heard this from her sister friends at the height of the pandemic.

“At first, because it was so scary, I felt like we were kind of heroes back then,” said Smith. “They said, ‘Oh, you’re a nurse, you’re a rock star,’ we have free coffee. And you know, we were treated really well. But then the tide turned. “

Some were released, others left alone.

“We work in an area where it doesn’t matter what we go through,” says Yessika Lopez, medical assistant at the nursing school.

Now, hospital systems in southwest Florida are paying big bucks in premiums to get these nurses back.

At NCH, a nurse can receive anywhere from $ 500 to $ 20,000 to enroll.

At Lee Health, nurses can receive more than $ 9,000 in moving expenses.

The regional doctors’ health system offers several incentives, including help with tuition fees.

Lopez, a new mom and nursing student, said she would use the money wisely.

“He’s only 15 months and I hardly spend any time with him. Usually he’s with my mother. But I’m only doing this for him, ”said Lopez.

MORE:

Information on job vacancies at NCH can be found here.

Information on the care professions at LeeHealth can be found here.

See similar https://www.winknews.com/2021/06/23/hospitals-offering-sign-on-bonuses-to-hire-nurses/

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