Over plates of eggs, sausages and hashbrowns, neurological nursing candidates mingled with nurse leaders and toured Chesapeake Regional Healthcare’s newly built critical care tower.
The Brunch & Brainwaves event on Monday turned brunch into a hiring event, offering a relaxed setting for nurses to see the hospital’s new neurology unit up close before sitting down for one-on-one interviews.
Kimberly Green, director of acute care services, said the hospital aims to fill more than 30 nursing positions and ease shortages that have weighed on the profession since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We just want to bring people into our hospital, show them what we have to offer to our community and to our patients, and let them get to know us on a very personal level,” Green said. “I think that's the best way to recruit.”
Olga Rosado, a licensed practical nurse who previously worked at Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, was among those enjoying the brunch spread. She said the event highlighted Chesapeake Regional’s strength along the resources and benefits available to staff.
“As a new nurse, sometimes you can feel a little bit novice going into the field, but they're making the event very welcoming and very open for us to come forward,” Rosado said.
A survey from Nurse.com in 2022 showed nearly 30% of nurses considered leaving medicine during the depths of the pandemic, up from 11% the year before.
By 2024, more than half were weighing an exit due to heavy workloads and declining health, while two-thirds of acute care nurses have thought about leaving the profession altogether, according to a fact sheet from American Association of College of Nursing.
Leatha Betts, a licensed practical nurse at ECPI University from the event, said the nurse shortage is a statewide issue, and easing daily workloads is the key to addressing it.
“I know some people in Virginia,” Betts said. “There's not a nurse-patient ratio, so it could overwhelm nurses and drive them out of the career field, because there's just so much responsibility and demand.”
Green, the Chesapeake Regional director, said the hospital is trying to build a stronger pipeline of nurses by staying creative with recruitment.
“Being a small community hospital, we're known for being innovative. That is our thing,” Green said.
Brunch & Brainwaves was Chesapeake Regional’s third major hiring event in recent months, with more planned. Two earlier “Draft Day” events, which brought in college nursing students for games and interviews, led to more than 50 hires.
