The annual Health Check report analyzes health trends in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan counties and compares it with national data.
Grand Valley State University Visiting Professor of Economics Cody Kirby says West Michigan health care organizations attract and retain employees at rates above the national average, but the incomes of those workers have not kept pace with the national average.
“I offer it as a warning shot, which is how long can we get away with doing that? Our wage expectations, or our wage growth, how long can that not keep pace with the national average and yet we could still keep attracting and retaining talent better than average?”
When it comes to patient care, Associate Economics Professor Daniel Montanera notes the average length of stay in a West Michigan hospital has gone up from an average of 5 days to just under 6.5 days, a 23% increase in two years.
“Sometimes this is on the health insurers. They might be choosy about which facility to discharge a patient to, trying to direct them or steer them to low-cost facilities, and sometimes it’s on the supply side; that’s nursing facilities are having difficulty staffing.”
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