October 12th, 2023 by WCBC Radio

According to the latest report by the West Virginia Hospital Association, nursing had the highest overall rates of vacancies and turnovers, at more than 19-percent and 26-percent respectively. Nurse and Chief Clinical Officer Rebecca Love, of nurse staffing company IntelyCare says in rural regions, hospitals often become the stop-gap solution for both residents' health and communities' economic wellbeing.

According to the report, West Virginia hospitals are licensed for around 64-hundred beds, but currently can only staff 48-hundred, stretching nurses thin and affecting patient care.