Workforce shortages topped the list of hospital CEOs' biggest worries in 2022, according to a survey by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Hospital CEOs biggest worries in 2022

For the survey, 281 hospital CEOs were asked to rank 11 issues affecting their hospitals in order of how pressing those issues are, and to identify specific areas of concern within those issues.

The top issues – and their respective average rankings – for hospital CEOs in 2022 were:

1. Workforce challenges, 1.8
2. Financial challenges, 2.8
3. Behavioral health/addiction issues, 5.2
4. Patient safety and quality, 5.9
5. Governmental mandates, 5.9
6. Access to care, 6.0
7. Patient satisfaction, 6.6
8. Physician-hospital relations, 7.6
9. Technology, 7.7
10. Population health management, 8.6
11. Reorganization, 8.7

While the issue "workforce shortage," which includes personnel shortages, was added to the survey in 2022, personnel shortages similarly topped the list in 2021's survey edition, with an average rank of 1.6.

Within workforce challenges, a shortage of RNs was identified as the biggest concern by 90% of respondents. Meanwhile, within financial challenges, increasing costs for staff and supplies was identified as the top concern among 89% of respondents. And within behavioral health/addiction issues, lack of appropriate facilities/programs in community was identified as the top concern by 78% of respondents.

"Hospitals need to take both long- and short-term measures to address critical workforce issues so they can continue to provide safe, high-quality care now and in the future," said Deborah Bowen, president and CEO of ACHE. "Longer-term solutions include strengthening the workforce pipeline through creative partnerships, such as those with colleges to grow the number of nurses and technicians. More immediate solutions include supporting and developing all staff, building staff resilience, organizing services to reflect the realities of the labor market and exploring alternative models of care." (Kacik, Modern Healthcare, 2/13; ACHE survey)