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S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / W O R K F O R M E 25 H e a l t h C a r e F or several years, Maine health officials and industry experts had issued warnings. The state is running short of nurses. Rural parts of Maine desperately need more physicians. We don't have enough health care workers. Then came COVID-19. Almost overnight, demand for health care workers skyrocketed. As early as mid-March, em- ployment website Glassdoor reported a three-fold increase in job openings across the country, with 61% of the growth occur- ring in states with the highest rates of coronavirus infection. The most-sought workers, ac- counting for one-quarter of those jobs: registered nurses. In one market, Glassdoor reported, 23 nursing jobs had been posted during the last week of February. In the next week, ending March 7, employers ad- vertised 76 of those jobs. In Maine, the first case of COVID-19 wasn't reported un- til March 12. But the state, like others, has scrambled to find workers needed in response to the ongoing public health crisis. And it's not just nurses. Workers in diverse health care specialties are serving on the front lines in the war against the coronavirus. As the evening news broadcasts have shown, respiratory therapists, hospital intake specialists, social workers, lab technicians and many more are being applauded as heroes. "The difference today as com- pared to prior to COVID is that there are extreme shortages of particular skill sets needed due to the nature of COVID symptoms," says Paul Bolin, chief human resources officer of Northern Light Health. Northern Light is Maine's second-largest health care system, with 10 hospitals, Health care is hiring B Y W I L L I A M H A L L S O U R C E : Glassdoor 2 0 % 2 5 % 1 5 % 1 0 % 5 % 0 % C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L O W I N G PA G E » HEROES WANTED The difference today as compared to prior to COVID is that there are extreme shortages of particular skill sets needed due to the nature of COVID symptoms. — Paul Bolin Northern Light Health N u m b e r o f J o b l i s t i n g s , 1 2 / 2 5 / 1 9 – 3 / 7 / 2 0 Registered nurses accounted for 25% of job listing growth due to the coronavirus outbreak Communications associate Social worker Project manager Technician S h a r e o f J o b l i s t i n g s , 1 2 / 2 5 / 1 9 – 3 / 4 / 2 0 3% 4% 6% 7% 25% 1 0 0 1 2 / 2 5 1 / 1 2 2 / 1 8 1 / 3 1 3 / 7 2 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 Job openings increased by 3× in the U.S. and 2.2× globally in response to the coronavirus outbreak G l o b a l U n i t e d S t a t e s Husson University is part of the statewide effort to meet the need for more nurses in Maine. In recent years, it has seen a dramatic increase in the number of nursing students. F I L E P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y H U S S O N U N I V E R S I T Y H e a l t h C a r e