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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Hospital Association has released its 2025 Workforce Report, providing a comprehensive look at workforce trends across West Virginia hospitals and highlighting ongoing efforts to strengthen the state’s healthcare workforce.
A strong healthcare workforce is essential to ensuring access to high-quality care in communities across West Virginia. With more than 54,000 employees working in West Virginia hospitals, healthcare remains one of the state’s largest and most critical employment sectors.
The 2025 report marks WVHA’s third annual Workforce Report and includes data from 47 hospitals representing 69.1% of eligible hospitals statewide. The report tracks workforce trends across 13 critical hospital occupations grouped into five categories: nursing, imaging, medical laboratory, respiratory and operating room professions.
“Across West Virginia, hospitals continue to meet workforce challenges head-on through resilience, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to patient care,” said Jim Kaufman, President and CEO of WVHA. “This report provides valuable insight into workforce trends while helping inform workforce planning, education, and policy decisions. Just as important, it highlights the collaborative efforts underway to strengthen the healthcare workforce pipeline and support the professionals who care for our communities every day.”
Among the key findings:
- The report expanded in 2025 to include operating room professions, establishing baseline workforce data for Sterile Processing Technicians and Surgical Technologists.
- Nursing continues to experience the greatest workforce pressures, with a vacancy rate of 17.5% and turnover rate of 21.4%, reinforcing the importance of continued investment in recruitment, retention and workforce development efforts.
- Medical laboratory professions reported the lowest vacancy rate among the workforce categories surveyed at 12.6%, reflecting continued workforce stability in these essential roles.
- Respiratory therapy continued to demonstrate relatively balanced workforce indicators, supporting access to critical patient care services throughout the state.
- Workforce data shows that, despite ongoing challenges, vacancy and turnover rates remain improved compared with peak levels reported in 2022, reflecting progress in workforce stabilization efforts.
The report also highlights several workforce initiatives and policy advancements designed to strengthen the healthcare workforce. During the 2026 legislative session, policymakers advanced several workforce-related measures, including the Healthcare Worker Protection Act (SB 200), the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact (HB 5015), employer-supported childcare tax credits and childcare subsidy reforms (HB 4191) and peer support programs for healthcare workers and first responders (HB 5086). Together, these efforts support workforce safety, recruitment, retention and employee well-being.
In addition to policy advancements, WVHA continues to support workforce development through initiatives such as Explore Health Careers WV, the LEAD Program for Managers, workplace violence prevention education and the Rural Health Transformation Program. These initiatives are designed to strengthen career pathways, support professional development, improve workforce safety and build a sustainable healthcare workforce for the future.
Explore Health Careers WV is a free online resource that helps students, parents, educators, individuals considering a career change and aspiring healthcare professionals discover the many healthcare career opportunities available in West Virginia. The website provides information on career options, education and training pathways, salary and job outlook data and resources to help individuals begin or advance a career in healthcare. To learn more, visit Explore Health Careers WV.
“Building a strong workforce goes beyond recruitment alone,” Kaufman said. “It requires meaningful investment in professional growth, supportive work environments, strategic partnerships, and policies that promote long-term workforce stability. West Virginia hospitals remain committed to this work, and WVHA is proud to support those efforts as we work together to build a stronger, more resilient future for healthcare in our state.”
WVHA conducts workforce surveys twice each year to better understand workforce trends and support data-driven solutions. The information collected helps inform workforce advocacy efforts and provides valuable insights for policymakers, educators and healthcare leaders working to strengthen the healthcare workforce across West Virginia.
