June 5, 2025 | BOMA International, Ella Krygiel
During the 2025 BOMA Medical Real Estate Conference held this past May in Denver, CO, one theme echoed across nearly every presentation: the escalating shortage of healthcare workers. Dr. Vin Gupta, Chief Medical Officer of Amazon Pharmacy, underscored the urgency during his keynote address, stating, “We simply don’t have enough healthcare workers. There is an expected shortage of 9.7 million hourly workers by 2030.”
A recent report by the Health Resources & Services Administration breaks this down further, determining that over 78 million people live in primary care shortage areas, requiring 13,535 additional providers. Dental and mental health services are also strained, with over 60 million and 122 million people affected, respectively, and thousands of practitioners needed to close the gaps.
Given these shortages, which began during COVID-19 and have continued to drive high turnover, many organizations are now identifying the biggest challenges healthcare workers face in hopes of finding more effective solutions.
For example, Becker’s Hospital Review outlined the several nursing challenges systems are experiencing. Below are their findings:
- 65% of nurses cite stress and burnout as their top challenge. Contributing factors include staff shortages, high patient ratios, inadequate pay and benefits and a sense of being undervalued by management.
- 24% of nurses said their workplaces offer no mental health resources.
- 58% of nursing students said they are concerned about emotional stress during their transition into hospitals.
These issues were discussed in detail during the Medical Real Estate Conference session, “Beyond the Hospital Walls: Outsourcing Healthcare Services.” Among the panelists, speaker Dan Storey, Real Estate Manager, HCA brought to light these shortages and how they are impacting campuses specifically, a trend expected to continue within the next five to ten years.
The Association of American Medical Colleges pointed out that the lack of new nurses joining the field is hardly for a lack of interest or qualification. In short, as many as 80,000 qualified applicants get turned away from nursing colleges because there are not enough nursing faculty, clinical sites and resources to support larger class sizes.
Additionally, Y. Tony Yang, ScD, a health policy professor at George Washington University School of Nursing mentioned that “contributing to this issue is the fact that many highly qualified nurses can make higher salaries working at the bedside than they would teaching future nurses.” As a result, there are fewer nurses available to work with students and provide the mentorship needed to succeed.
However, some schools like Oregon Health & Service University are taking steps to build up the next generation of nurses, such as “allowing qualified nurses to take paid time away from their hospital duties to teach.” This, combined with offering scholarships and forming partnerships with local universities and high schools, could be key to expanding job opportunities and improving workforce retention.
Health Recovery Solutions provides the following strategies for managing healthcare staffing shortages:
1. Embrace Technology
As highlighted in TotalMed and Medical Economics, healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to virtual visits and remote clinical monitoring to alleviate staff workload and enhance patient outcomes. Remote patient monitoring programs demonstrate how technology can support seamless communication between patients and clinicians, improving both efficiency and care quality.
2. Address Burnout
Supporting staff well-being is essential for retaining a strong healthcare workforce. According to Health Recovery Solutions, even simple actions—like recognizing nurses for their contributions—can significantly boost morale. Additionally, offering flexible scheduling empowers healthcare workers with greater control over their time, leading to improved job satisfaction and reduced burnout.
3. Provide Professional Development Opportunities
Attracting new talent to the healthcare industry is essential. Partnering with universities and offering scholarship programs can promote long-term equity and open doors for underrepresented groups. Additionally, providing training programs for new or entry-level workers helps build the hands-on experience hospitals need, strengthening the workforce from the ground up.
As the healthcare industry continues to struggle with staffing shortages, proactive strategies like embracing technology, addressing burnout and investing in professional development are more critical than ever. By implementing these approaches, healthcare organizations can not only retain their current workforce but also build a more resilient and equitable system for the future.
Interested in more content like this? Read our recent articles, Remote Monitoring and the New Standard of Care or 2025 BOMA International Medical Real Estate Conference Recap. You can view all this content and more when you click here to sign up for our Medical newsletter!