Bryan Administration to Introduce Nurse Retention Plan; JFL Said to be Experiencing Severe Staff Shortage

The Bryan administration will soon announce a nurse retention program aimed at encouraging current nurses to remain employed at the territory's hospitals while attracting others.

During an interview with the Consortium Friday, Governor Albert Bryan said nurses would receive a $2,000 annual bonus for two years "plus some increases on their pay," among other incentives that will be announced as part of the plan.

"I'm about to release funds to give nurses at both hospitals retention bonuses; we're going to launch a whole new program to attract full-time nurses to the hospitals," Mr. Bryan added.

Nurses were always needed at the territory's hospitals, but the situation has become desperate at one of the two following a vaccine mandate imposed by the territorial hospital board. According to a person with intimate knowledge of the situation, the Juan F. Luis Hospital will lose at least 15 nurses by year's end, around 10 of whom have already left. Among them is a young nurse considered to be a rising star and one of the charge nurses of JFL's medical-surgical unit. She was accepted as a travel nurse in Florida with a salary much higher than her former employer's offering. Other JFL nurses are expected to pursue travel nurse opportunities as well.