Texas hospitals raise pay to help address staffing shortages

Austin, Texas – Texas hospitals and state-supported residence centers are raising wages and starting benefits to help address staff shortages at facilities.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced the change on Tuesday.

HHSC says more than 700 public hospital beds cannot be used due to a shortage of workers.

The commission plans to fill 1,805 vacancies in public hospitals and 2,137 vacancies in public residence centers.

Under the new policy, a registered nurse with three years of experience will be paid up to $90,000 per year.

Psychiatric Nurse Assistants and Direct Support Workers will start at $17.50 to $21 an hour.

Catering workers will be paid up to $13.94 an hour.

“By raising salaries and wages to be more competitive, HHSC is meeting urgent staffing needs and bringing more hospital beds back into the network. Together, we support the recruitment and retention of the best and brightest healthcare professionals to serve Texans in our public hospitals and with government support. residential centers,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press release.

HHSC also says that 7,855 full-time workers in public hospitals and 11,794 workers in public residence centers will receive a pay increase effective March 1.

Jobs across the state are available on the HHS website.