WINONA, Minn. – The Winona Health staff is being restructured to address a future of continuing health-care worker shortages, said Rachelle Schultz, the hospital and clinic’s chief executive. Part of the plan she said, is cross-training staff members for flexibility. In a KWNO interview, she called it “hybrid working options.” The worker shortage, Schulta explained, is a result of a massive exodus during the CoVid pandemic. Demographic trends in Winona and Minnesota don’t suggest the problem is temporary, she said. “The number of people who are entering the workforce in the next 15, 20 years is substantially lower than what has historically been coming into the workforce,” Schultz said. “That’s for all sectors so we are all competing now for staff for key positions.”
Verbatim
Schultz: “I think we’re all looking at where did everybody go, and are people coming back? I’m not sure that’s going to happen. I think we have to really take a long view on this and the staffing issues.”