https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/350-nurses-will-see-pay-cut-at-ohio-system.html?origin=CFOE&utm_source=CFOE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=2893H2397267F7G

Hundreds of nurses at University Hospitals are facing a decrease in pay as the Cleveland-based health system pivots from its COVID-19 pandemic model, cleveland.com reported.

A spokesperson told Becker’s the pay adjustment is effective June 16 and applies to 350 Enterprise Staffing Services nurses.

“UH’s Enterprise Staffing Services is an in-house staffing agency formed in response to the once-in-a-lifetime global health pandemic that stretched our resources and workforce to the extreme,” a UH statement shared with Becker’s said. “During the pandemic, hospitals across the country (including UH) increased their use of agency nurses to fill gaps in staffing with government funding assistance, with agency costing up to twice as much or more than our hospital-based full-time nurses. 

“Nurses are the heartbeat of our health system and we will never be able to thank them enough for their commitment and dedication to our patients during the pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic care model is not sustainable in today’s environment.”

The statement said those affected by the pay adjustment, representing 1% of the health system’s workforce, will still be paid about twice the national average. 

Pay for staffing services nurses on night shift will decrease from $75 to $65 an hour, a 13% cut, UH said, according to cleveland.com, which obtained a health system memo related to the change. Pay for staffing services nurses on day shift will decrease 8%, from $60 to $55 an hour.

Pay for a new staffing services job without benefits will be $75 per hour for night shift, and $65 per hour for day shift, UH said in the memo, which also encouraged staffing services nurses to apply for other health system roles, according to cleveland.com.

“As we continue to exit from our pandemic model, external nursing staffing agencies and internal hospital nurse staffing agencies nationwide are adjusting pay accordingly,”

UH’s statement said. “We have provided cutting-edge, compassionate care to our neighbors in Northeast Ohio since 1866. We’re taking the appropriate steps to ensure we can continue fulfilling our mission for future generations.”