Renfrey Memorial Hospital (RMH) is a 200 bed regional hospital located in the Midwest

Renfrey Memorial Hospital (RMH) is a 200 bed regional hospital located in the Midwest. It has been in existence for 32 years and was named after a prominent philanthropist in the area, Mr. GilbertH. Renfrey, who made many financial contributions to projects in and around the community where Renfrey Memorial Hospital is located. The hospital maintains the only 24 hour emergency department in the area, as well as an "extended hours" urgent care clinic. The hospital is encountering a problem with nursing staff retention. Sixty-eight percent of the nursing staff is over the age of 45, and facing retirement. The hospital commissioned a survey that revealed many of the nursing staff finds the work too physically demanding and many are feeling physically exhausted and report emotional burn out as well. Several of the survey respondents report they are stressed to the breaking point caring for aging parents in addition to working at Renfrey. In the past two years, the hospital has seen an exodus of nurses. The hospital has been forced to use temporary pool nurses from an agency. This has driven up personnel costs and also resulted in decreased rankings on patient satisfaction surveys. In addition, the nursing shortage is making it difficult to recruit replacement nurses forth staff who plans on retiring within the next couple of years. Renfrey Memorial Hospital faces significant staffing challenges ahead as it grapples with these issues and the hospital board is very concerned. They know there must be some changes made in order to prevent a major financial and human resources crisis in the future.