State health agency hiking salaries
AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission today announced it is increasing salaries and starting pay at state hospitals and state-supported living centers to help with crucial staffing needs, maintain competitive wages, and bring hospital beds back online.
“Maintaining a highly skilled, well-trained healthcare workforce is critical to providing quality healthcare and increasing access for Texans across our state,” said Gov. Greg Abbott. “By increasing salaries and wages to be more competitive, HHSC is addressing critical staffing needs and bringing more hospital beds back online. Together, we are bolstering recruitment and retention of the best and brightest health professionals to serve Texans in our state hospitals and state-supported living centers.”
”We are incredibly grateful for the hard work and dedication of our current staff, and we look forward to continuing to grow our teams with qualified and compassionate healthcare professionals who share our commitment to support the patients at our state hospitals and the residents at our state supported living centers,” said Scott Schalchlin, deputy executive commissioner for HHSC’s Health and Specialty Care System. “Increasing starting salaries will bolster HHSC’s recruitment and hiring of prospective employees, help us get fully staffed, and serve more people in need.”
More than 700 state hospital beds are offline due to workforce challenges. Increasing starting salaries at state hospitals will help recruit and attract healthcare workers, reduce vacancies and bring more beds back online.
HHSC is looking to fill approximately 1,805 vacancies in state hospitals and 2,137 in state-supported living centers by offering higher starting salaries. For example, a registered nurse with three years of experience would start as high as $90,000 per year. Psychiatric nursing assistants and direct support professionals would start between $17.50-$21 an hour, depending on experience. Food service workers start as high as $13.94 an hour.
Effective March 1, approximately 7,855 fulltime positions at state hospitals and 11,794 at state-supported living centers will also receive salary increases.
The $148 million in salary increases are in addition to other financial incentives HHSC offered staff to increase recruitment and retention last year. HHSC also offers paid health and dental insurance, vacation and sick leave, a retirement plan, paid training, and advancement opportunities.
State-supported living centers provide residential services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, while state hospitals provide inpatient psychiatric care for adults, children, and adolescents.
Positions are available at the following locations across Texas: Abilene, Austin, Big Spring, Brenham, Corpus Christi, Denton, El Paso, Kerrville, Lubbock, Lufkin, Mexia, Richmond, Harlingen, Rusk, San Angelo, San Antonio, Terrell, Vernon, Waco and Wichita Falls.
To view all open positions and apply, candidates can visit the Health and Specialty Care System jobs page on the HHSC website.
Job seekers who have questions and want more information can e-mail healthcareers@hhsc.state. tx.us.
To view open positions by location, view the Health and Specialty Care System jobs map.