LAKE HAVASU CITY — The education team at Havasu Regional Medical Center (HRMC) may have figured out how to address the nursing shortage in Arizona. Their new residency program is less than two years old, but it is already showing positive results and was recognized last month with multiple awards.
On October 29, the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) held its third annual Quality Awards luncheon, where HRMC was recognized for this work. AzHHA awarded HRMC its Clinical Excellence Award for improving nurse retention through this new residency program, as well as an award for implementing a new blood culture collection instrument. Both initiatives resulted in HRMC also receiving the Top Overall Excellence Award.
Taylor Barrett (Education Director) and Elias Coury (Market Assistant Administrator) won 1st place for the Outstanding Patient/Community Impact Award. This award honors outcomes directly affecting patients, reducing hospital acquired infection rates, fall rates, maternal health, mental health, patient safety, quality, equitable and respectful care, patient family advisory councils etc.
“Our nurses, leadership, and staff work tirelessly every day to improve patient outcomes, nurse engagement, and our commitment to quality,” said Chief Nursing Officer in a statement. “This recognition is a testament to the culture of continuous improvement we have built at HRMC.”
The nurse retention effort began in 2023, when HRMC partnered with the Arizona Board of Nursing—a government agency created by the Nurse Practice Act which establishes the legal framework for nursing in Arizona and is responsible for rulemaking, licensing, investigations, and disciplinary actions to protect public health and safety.
In 2022, the state legislature passed the Arizona Health Care Workforce Development Act (HB 2691), which was designed to address Arizona’s nursing shortage through various grant programs and other funding. HRMC’s residency program was funded by one of those grant programs—Grant 1803—which focuses on training programs.
The HRMC education team won 1st place for the Clinical Excellence Award. Pictured L–R: Olivia Sandoval (Clinical Nurse Educator), Audrey Blankenship (former Manager of Education), and Ruth Roberts (Manager of Education). This award honors outcomes affecting processes, staff, clinical relationships, unit leadership, emergency preparedness planning, collaboration with schools or community partners, workforce (retention, recognition, recruitment) etc.)
“Nurse retention has always been a problem, but it’s been especially daunting since COVID, and having the clinical hours cut for nursing students has made it a challenge to orient our new nurses to the floor and help them be comfortable and help retain them as staff,” says Ruth Roberts, a nurse and member of the education team.
She says that in 2023, 10 out of 23 nurses resigned—a 43% turnover rate. However, from 2023 to 2024, overall retention rate went from 68.4% to 89.4%—an increase of 21%.
Roberts believes that their residency program has been so successful that spots are now competitive.
The key to its success, she argues, has been the program’s cultural impact within the hospital, and how it also improves morale.
“Part of the mentorship of these new grads is helping them to immerse into the culture of the hospital, and the culture is a huge part of morale,” she says.
New nurses can more easily adjust through the welcoming and inclusive mentorship program, which offers more resources than before.
The mentorship program utilizes online learning through TruMont, as well as a didactic, in-person portion with the residency coordinator Olivia Sandoval. Incentives have also played a role. Participants in the residency may be offered bonuses if they complete various stages of the mentorship and if they stay for the full, year-long residency.
Cronkite News reported earlier this year that, according to the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Arizona is projected to have 28,100 fewer registered nurses than are needed—the biggest disparity in the country.
