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Staffing Shortage Solution: Filipino Nurses to the Rescue > Back To Resources

Jane Erikson ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson hospitals taking advantage of islands' surplus

Arlene Escaba and Claire Alipit arrived in Tucson 10 days ago to help University Medical Center resolve its nursing shortage.

Escaba, 30, and Alipit, 29, are nurses from the Philippines - a poor nation with a huge surplus of nurses who are lucky to earn $300 a month in their native country.

Like others of their generation, they were encouraged by their government to become nurses - not so they could work in the Philippines, but so they could travel to the United States, where they can expect starting salaries of $40,000 a year or more - enough to send money home to their struggling families.

Monday was the first day of their three-year commitment to work at UMC, which plans to hire 30 Filipino nurses by the end of the year. It's the newest of several approaches the hospital has taken to help alleviate its nurse shortage.

Statewide, hospitals have about 15 percent fewer nurses than they need to fully staff all of their patient beds, according to the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. Nationwide, the shortage runs around 10 percent.

"We're homesick. We're suffering from jet lag," Escaba said a few days after making the 18-hour flight from Manila. "This is my first time to be out of my country. But I am very happy to be here."

Alipit agreed. "The people are really very friendly here."

The two wanted to work at UMC, Escaba said, because of its reputation for nursing excellence. Last year UMC became the first hospital in Arizona, and one of 74 nationally, to be designated as a "Magnet Hospital" by the American Nurses Association. The honor is based on several factors, including the work environment for nurses and the quality of care patients receive.

Escaba, who will work in the newborn intensive-care unit, and Alipit, who will work in cardiac care, are not the first Filipino nurses to be employed in Tucson. Escaba's sister-in-law has been at UMC for several years, currently working as an emergency room nurse. Escaba's husband, Jessie, also a nurse, will join the hospital by the end of the year; his immigration process is taking longer than hers.

In all, UMC has about 12 Filipino nurses on staff, some in leadership roles, said JaneMatte, the hospital's director of nurse recruitment. And other Tucson hospitals have hired Filipino nurses over the years.

But Escaba and Alipit represent a recent effort to hire a large number of nurses from the Philippines as at least a short-term solution to the shortage that has reduced patient admissions not only here but around the country.

"These are very well-trained, experienced nurses," Matte said. "They come from a very compassionate, caring, family-oriented type of culture. They are very enthusiastic, and they are very articulate. We have some things to teach them. They need to learn some of our technology. But they are excited to be here, and they are anxious to get started."

UMC helps the nurses make their way through the immigration process, which can take 18 to 24 months, Matte said. The hospital covers their travel costs and their first two months of rent and utilities in Tucson.

The hospital will invest about $14,000 in each of the nurses it brings here from the Philippines, Matte said. In comparison, UMC and the Carondelet Health Network are investing what amounts to $26,000 for each of the students enrolling in the University of Arizona College of Nursing's accelerated-training program. The first 48 students who started the 14-month program last summer will graduate in August.

Tucson Medical Center and Carondelet Health Network also are tapping into the Filipino nurse pipeline.

TMC expects to bring about 18 of the nurses to Tucson during the coming year, said spokeswoman Julia Strange.

Carondelet, which owns St. Joseph's and St. Mary's hospitals, expects its first group of Filipino nurses to join its staff in 2005 or later, said Linda Werbylo, the network's vice president for human resources.

Carondelet is working through its parent organization, the Ascension Health Catholic hospital system, Werbylo said.

"We had to question whether it was fair to go to a foreign country where the poverty level is so high and take resources from them," Werbylo said. "But we determined that there is a huge surplus of nurses in the Philippines, so we felt it would be beneficial to all concerned."

The hospitals are not pinning their long-range plans on hiring nurses from overseas. The fast-track nursing program and TMC's advancement program for hospital employees are examples of efforts to train more local people for nursing careers.

But Escaba and Alipit represent at least an excellent short-term solution to the chronic nursing shortage, Matte said.

"These are experienced nurses, but they will have some adjustments to make," Matte said. "We will try to give them everything they need. We really want them to be successful."

Contact reporter Jane Erikson at 573-4118 or at jerikson@azstarnet.com.

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