With widespread workforce shortages across the healthcare industry expected to persist through the next decade, HCA Healthcare leads the way in training workers and opening doors to lifelong, fulfilling careers.

Our expansive reach and abundant resources allow us to do this in numerous ways. We have a significant stake in a rich and thriving healthcare workforce. We invest in programs that help people build high-impact careers through education assistance and training programs, financial assistance like tuition reimbursement, and accelerator programs that help individuals take the next steps in their healthcare careers. While many of these programs are available to colleagues, many are also available to individuals in the communities where we provide care and are specifically designed for those in underserved areas to unlock new career and financial possibilities.

Through these efforts, HCA Healthcare impacts the current — and future — state of healthcare. It’s an exciting time for colleagues and anyone who desires a career in healthcare, says Laura DeMotte, American Group vice president of Human Resources and lead for HCA Healthcare’s Workforce Development Center of Excellence.

“We are investing more in workforce development than we ever have,” she says. “We are very strategic in how we leverage education assistance and training programs to strengthen the healthcare workforce and pour into our colleagues. We believe that HCA Healthcare is uniquely positioned to offer a career of a lifetime, and our investment in broadening our support of academic and community partnerships is a powerful example of that vision in action.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 193,100 openings for RNs annually through 2032.

According to the American Association of Colleges and Nursing, there are two key factors contributing to the shortage:

• An aging baby boomer population and their anticipated healthcare needs
• Nursing schools across the country that are struggling to expand in order to meet the rising healthcare demands

HCA Healthcare’s proactive approach to these industry and community challenges has included becoming a majority owner in Galen College of Nursing in 2020. This endeavor marked our single largest investment in nursing, enabling individuals to access high-quality nursing education in new ways.

Galen’s Tuition Assistance Differentiator

• Direct billing: Galen bills HCA Healthcare directly, so eligible colleagues do not pay upfront or out-of-pocket tuition expenses.
• Career coaching: HCA Healthcare provides coaches who guide colleagues in learning how to finance their educations and plan their career tracks.

By the end of this year, Galen is expected to be the industry’s biggest producer of undergraduate nurses.

In 2021, Galen established a partnership with Fisk University to help their students obtain degrees that can lead to advancement and growth in nursing.

Partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) aim to help diversify the workforce and to help hospitals reflect the communities they serve.

One distinguishing factor about Galen is that its older student population requires some nontraditional support. For example, the average age of a Galen student is 30, and some students are juggling parenthood while pursuing a second career. Students can find flexible schedules and online options to meet their needs while at Galen.

Peter Lindquist, HCA Healthcare’s chief clinical learning officer, says a lot of consideration is given to supporting the learning and training of these students. Galen also offers more tuition assistance options and improved pathways for job placement and advancement upon graduation.

HCA Healthcare also recruits nurses internally by providing ways for entry-level colleagues to train for roles quickly. The upskilling program known as FastTrack targets environmental and food service professionals, as well as patient care technicians, and was designed to meet critical needs in nursing, radiology, surgical and respiratory care specializations.

HCA Healthcare provides a full range of support for FastTrack participants, including education, training, clinical rotation experience and financial assistance to aid their advancement.

“Our workforce development programs fill critical needs by strengthening and expanding our talent pipelines and creating opportunities for career growth and professional development. Most importantly, they improve the lives of our colleagues as well as those in the communities we serve through training and upskilling, which opens doors to higher-level, higher paying roles,” says Laura.

Nearly 500 colleagues are in the FastTrack program, half of whom are patient care technicians providing bedside care. Most of them are pursuing nursing.

In addition to HCA Healthcare’s investment in strengthening the nursing pipeline, the organization also invests in nurses’ ongoing growth and development, including support for earning advanced degrees.

For example, in 2023, more than 800 nurses received upward of $3 million in nursing leadership development. Of those nurses, 75% use those funds to earn their Master of Science in Nursing degrees. This is where
HCA Healthcare’s relationship with Galen continues to be an advantage. Galen offers two master’s degree programs in nursing leadership, allowing colleagues the flexibility to juggle work and learning while receiving highly valuable financial assistance.

“That’s the great thing about having a career nurse,” says Erica White, assistant vice president, Benefits Center of Excellence. “They can start as an LPN, and we will graduate them to get an associate degree, give them a BSN and then turn them into a nurse leader.”

• Engaged local high school students in every division throughout the 2021–2022 school year, offering healthcare career programming, guest speakers, job shadowing experiences and field trips.
• In Nashville, supported the Academies of Nashville, connecting students and teachers with HCA Healthcare experts and volunteers, funding special projects and supporting partnerships.
• Established the Patricia Frist Memorial Scholarship to support dependents of colleagues pursuing postsecondary education.

The shortage of healthcare workers in American hospitals is expected to reach 10 million by 2030. Since 2020, 1 in 5 front-line healthcare workers across the industry has left their job. The role of patient care technician (PCT), an essential front-line role, reached a 32.3% turnover rate last year.

In Utah, hospital leaders are leveraging an untapped labor market — right under their noses — to address this challenge. HCA Healthcare’s Mountain Division partnered with Aprende Health to create a curriculum to help their Spanish-speaking colleagues in nonclinical roles get the training needed to become PCTs.

Nearly 20% of adults in Utah are native Spanish speakers. Blake Nemelka, PhD, vice president of Academic Affairs, HCA Healthcare Mountain Division, says the program is extremely popular. Twenty spots were initially offered, but when the number of applicants hit nearly 200, hospital leaders added more openings for the first cohort (pictured above).

“There were a lot of people who have been interested in pursuing the PCT route but didn’t because it seemed daunting to go into a program in their second language,” he says.

Courses are taught in Spanish, allowing students to learn more quickly. Although they still must get certified in English, the process is more attainable.

“If we can approach that talent pool, we’re going to expand our potential PCT population pretty significantly,” Blake says.

He estimates there are about 600,000 native Spanish-speakers in their market and believes that more healthcare roles could get a boost from that demographic.

“This is an amazing pool of healthcare talent, and we are excited to work together on a strategy to give more people a pathway to becoming caregivers,” he says.

PCT training can be a springboard for further career advancement. As PCTs, colleagues will have access to fully or partially subsidized tuition at Galen College of Nursing, which now also has a campus in Utah. College advisors can help guide career plans and secure financial aid.