TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Who wouldn’t want to live and work in northern lower Michigan? There are undoubtedly many workers across the state who would jump at the chance to move “up north” to work in their chosen career – but housing is one of the main impediments to that dream.

Housing in northern lower Michigan is sometimes scarce and often expensive, especially in the Cherry Capital of the world – a beautiful place to live that boasts a laid-back lifestyle that includes peninsulas of wineries, beaches and outdoor adventure.

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The unofficial motto of Traverse City has long been “a view of the bay at half the pay” but since the onset of Covid, things have changed. Traverse City, a thriving tourist destination in the “Mitten” state, has had to re-think their low pay model across the city and employers have had to step up with the rest of the state, offering higher pay and better benefits in order to keep and lure workers to the area.

In order to recruit more nurses to Traverse City, Munson Medical Center in Traverse City is not just offering lucrative signing bonuses, they are also offering up free furnished housing for a year for operating nurses and surgical technologists.

The Traverse City Ticker reports that Munson is running a digital ad campaign throughout the Midwest that extolls “the beauty, adventure and culture of a top U.S. beach town” in an effort to fill critical operating room nurse and surgical tech positions. This is a three-month pilot program that started in the beginning of May and it could be extended if it proves to be effective.

Megan Brown, chief marketing and communications officer at Munson Healthcare, says, “The job market is incredibly competitive in health care. As a rural system, we decided we needed to do something interesting to attract people who might want to have a career here.”

Luring nurses to a beautiful part of the state with free housing could be marketing genius for Munson – finding those who want to give up a life of hustle-and-bustle downstate amongst the interstate traffic jams, high crime and crowded cities.

This opportunity appears to be a unique idea in the state. Michigan Health and Hospital Association says that they are unaware of any other hospitals in Michigan who are providing free housing for permanent-hire nurses and other health care workers.

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With nursing shortages all over Michigan, and the rest of the country, this new pilot program could bring Munson much needed health care workers as Munson works to acquire apartments for the workers, who will be required to sign a two-year employment contract. After their first year, they can decide if they want to pay rent for the Munson-provided apartment or obtain their own housing.

Brown says about the program, “Munson Healthcare must address barriers due to our rural location and the availability of housing locally, too.”

In addition to housing, Munson has initiated other incentives including “Walk-in Wednesdays” where applicants can interview and get job offers on the spots; signing bonuses; tuition reimbursement and wellness benefits.

Munson is also concerned with retaining the staff that they already have. Brown said, “Just as we have offered signing bonuses to attract new recruits, we’ve also prioritized retaining our existing staff. Over the last three years, we have issued multiple appreciation bonuses to our health care team and made the single largest wage adjustment in the health system’s history.”

A recent survey from the University of Michigan found that a whopping 39% of Michigan nurses are planning to leave their jobs in the next year, citing reasons like chronic understaffing, workplace bullying and patients assaulting them.

Another survey from the Michigan Health and Hospital Association shows that there are about 8,500 open nursing positions in Michigan hospitals – which amounts to a 13% vacancy rate.

Luckily for Traverse City, Brown says that Munson is hiring more people than those who are leaving. A new local nursing degree program at Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) could also steer things in the right direction for the northern lower Michigan city as well. They are partnering with Davenport University in Grand Rapids to offer a bachelor’s degree nursing program in Traverse City.

Brown acknowledges that there is no “silver bullet” but it looks like a mix of a lot of different incentives might keep nurses employed in Traverse City and entice others to work there as well.