ROCHESTER, N.Y. — This week, nurses are being recognized during National Nurses Week.

For nurses, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride in recent years.

What You Need To Know

  • This week, nurses are being recognized during National Nurses Week

  • One hospital shows signs of proof that retaining permanent nurses on staff is possible

  • The American Nurses Association says there are more than 5 million registered nurses in the U.S.

There was already a nurse shortage heading into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adding in retirements, burnout, staffing stress and vaccine mandates, hospitals struggled to keep their nurses on the job.

To fill vacancies, many turned to high-priced travel nurses.  

Now, one hospital is showing signs of proof that the tides may be turning.  

Registered Nurse Samantha Brown is an agency, or travel nurse, at Rochester Regional Health United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia until the end of this week.

Next week, she will become a full-time permanent employee at the same hospital, switching gears and leaving her travel nurse gig for a permanent home.

“It’s kind of nice to have a home base," Brown said. "You get benefits, PTO, sick time, you get a cake on your birthday here, and it’s nice to belong somewhere."

Brown saw the opportunity to jump on the travel nurse bandwagon three years ago. 

It’s one that helped hospitals fill the gaps but created some new problems.

“Because you have core staff that are invested and really committed to the quality and safety to our patients and you have the travel nurses that are making double the amount that they are making,” said Vice President Chief Nursing Officer at UMMC Sheri Faggiano. "So it is difficult."

Faggiano says the need to recruit is there but the effort to retain the core permanent staff is a priority. The efforts include training, transparency, flexible schedules and more.

“Focusing on their well-being, focusing on benefits and being competitive in the market," she said. "That’s really important, too.”

“Permanent staffing allows us a lot more financial flexibility so that we can reinvest in the hospital,” said Associate Chief Nursing Officer at UMMC Jessica Patnode.

Based on the turnover rate, it seems to be working.

“In 2022, we were at a 23% turnover rate," Faggiano said. "And in 2023, we were at 17. And year to date today, we’re at 2%."

And now nurses are honored and recognized for their work during this National Nurses Week.

“I think nurses are a very interesting breed and the things that we do together to help out a patient can be monumental for them to get better in their healing process and to getting home or to a place they want to be,” said Brown.

She has been a nurse since 2014 and says it's very nice that people are saying "thank you" for things they do every day.

The American Nurses Association says there are more than 5 million registered nurses in the U.S.