(The Center Square) – In the midst of Pennsylvania’s struggle to hire more health care workers, long delays in getting a license have driven complaints and pushed fresh doctors and nurses to leave the state.
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, lawmakers pressed officials from the Department of State about the extent of the problem.
When license approvals get delayed, state representatives get calls asking for assistance.
“One of the biggest constituent requests we get is help navigating the process, help expediting the process,” said Rep. Jim Struzzi, R-Indiana.
“A lot of medical professionals coming out of school looking for these licenses to be issued in a timely manner and we’re hearing of extreme delays – months and months,” Struzzi said. “Quite frankly, that’s unacceptable … we are losing people to other states that can actually issue these licenses in a timely manner.”
Struggling to boost the number of health care workers reverberates through hospitals, doctors’ offices, and more. During the pandemic, long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania lost about 30,000 workers and its nursing home wait list has topped 2,000 people, as The Center Square previously reported.
Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt pointed to staffing shortages and an antiquated software system that makes it difficult to quickly review and approve licenses. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget would provide $10 million for upgrading PALS, the state’s licensing system.
“There’s two critical aspects that cause the delays … one is certainly PALS – and the uniform acceptance that it needs to be replaced and it is not performing the way that it should,” Schmidt said.
The other side is a shortage of workers within the department.
“There is, in performance management, a sort of performance death spiral that occurs,” Schmidt said. “The clerk has to process applications, the clerk also has to answer the phone. And they can’t process the applications and answer the phone at the same time, especially with so many vacancies.”
The Board of Nursing has half of its positions vacant, Schmidt noted. The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs has a 30% vacancy rate. Hiring people to fill those open seats can be a drawn-out process, too. Many applicants give up and take a different job.
“The process can take as long as three months, and most normal people cannot wait three months,” Schmidt said. “The salary is not necessarily the most competitive, and the conditions are difficult.”
For health care workers awaiting a license, a solution is a long way off and lawmakers will keep getting calls.
The department wants to replace PALS, but the request for proposals to do so won’t be released until September, and officials expect the new system to go live at the end of 2024.
“Mandatory overtime is not a long-term solution to fixing things,” Schmidt said. “Filling those vacancies is an important part of it. So once we do get our head above water, we can keep it there.”
