Case Study: Adapting to the New Workforce Environment: Hannibal Regional Healthcare System Outreach

Rural hospitals face significant staffing shortages. Only 10% of physicians in the United States practice in rural areas despite rural populations accounting for 20% of the population. Nearly 70% of the primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are located in rural or partially rural areas. Physician shortages, poverty, and geographic isolation contribute to lack of access to care and poorer health outcomes for rural Americans. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened existing staffing shortages. At the height of the January 2022 omicron surge, nearly one-third of hospitals indicated that they were anticipating critical staffing shortages.

Recruitment and retention of health professionals has been a persistent challenge for rural providers. Acute workforce shortages and increasing labor expenses resulting from the pandemic have placed additional pressure on rural hospitals. Many rural providers are seeking novel approaches to recruit and retain staff. Existing federal programs, such as the National Health Service Corps, work to incentivize clinicians to work in rural areas. Other programs, such as the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program, help rural hospitals and community organizations expand public health capacity through health care job development, training and placement. Yet, additional and continued support to help recruit and retain health care professionals and health service occupations in rural areas is needed from state and federal governments.

Hannibal Regional Healthcare System (HRHS), Hannibal, Missouri has found a way to manage their clinical workforce and health services occupations challenges by growing their own. Hannibal Regional Hospital is a 99-bed acute care hospital providing comprehensive health and wellness services to the residents of the MO, IA and IL tristate area. Hannibal Regional has been an independent provider of health care for the past 120 years and has been at its current location for more than 30 years. Expanding beyond hospital services, HRHS now has over 1,500 team members serving 12 counties, offices located in 11 communities, 85 providers and 21 specialties.

In 2015, the Board and leadership pledged to be a truly integrated program and emphasized workforce development, education and training as fundamental to their commitment. Since then, HRHS works collaboratively with several area schools, colleges and universities to establish programs to increase opportunities to work locally at various and diverse occupations.

Specifically, HRHS has established internships, residencies, training and curriculum with Hannibal High School, Moberly Area Community College (MACC), Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU), the University of Missouri at Columbia (MU), AT Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM), Culver-Stockton College and Truman State University (TSU), Kirksville. These collaborations have proven highly successful launching dozens of health services occupational and professional careers at HRHS and elsewhere.

View the detailed case study below.