Immigration and the Healthcare Workforce in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio, is a major American healthcare center. However, ongoing healthcare staffing shortages affect hospitals and clinics, jeopardizing the region’s ability to provide high-quality, competitive care. Immigration can play a meaningful role in addressing these shortages. Immigrants make up about one in six hospital workers, including physicians, surgeons, dentists, pharmacists, technicians, and nursing assistants. Immigrants also make up a significant share of non-clinical workers, like building cleaning and maintenance staff, food preparation, and service, as well as office and support workers.

The Impact of the Healthcare Staffing Shortage

Insufficient healthcare staffing is directly connected with worse outcomes for patient care. Increased medical errors, longer response times, surgical complications, pneumonia, bedsores, missed monitoring and misdiagnoses, and more are all serious risks when it comes to staffing shortages in healthcare​. Even more concerningly, having too few nurses per patient has been shown to be directly connected to higher patient mortality rates.

In a study from the National Library of Medicine, lower Registered Nurse (RN)[BD1] staffing levels and higher levels of hospital admissions per RN are associated with increased risk of death. The risk of death was increased by 3% for every day that a patient experienced RN staffing below the ward’s mean. By contrast, each added hour of RN care over the first 5 days of a patient’s stay was associated with a 3% reduction in the risk of death.

In context with these concerns, the impact of staff shortage in healthcare​ is dire nationwide as well as in Columbus. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) projects a growing shortage of 6% too few RNs nationwide, as well as a 13% shortage in nonmetro areas across the US by 2037. The Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) reports that 65% of direct care nurses have experienced workplace violence in the last 12 months, and 63% of nurses who have left their career did so because of patient care load. Burnout and high-stress workloads meet increased demand for patient care, with an aging population in Ohio and across the U.S.

Key Immigration Pathways for Healthcare Workers

For many healthcare facilities, welcoming foreign-born workers has become an essential strategy for filling staffing gaps. Immigrants already make up over a quarter (27%) of physicians and 22% of nursing assistants across U.S. hospitals and healthcare facilities. They also make up 1 in 8 respiratory therapists, 1 in 20 emergency room technicians, over half of U.S. geriatric medicine specialists, and close to 40% of home health aides.

Some options for healthcare employers looking to sponsor foreign-born workers include:

• H-1B: H-1B nonimmigrant visas are available for specialty occupation workers whose positions require at least a bachelor’s degree in a directly related field. Although the H-1B category is normally subject to an annual cap of 65,000 visas (plus an additional 20,000 for U.S. master’s degree holders), some employers, like nonprofit hospitals that are “related to” or formally affiliated with universities or nonprofit research institutions, may qualify as cap-exempt. For example, university-affiliated medical centers like the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, can be exempt from the national limit.
• J-1: The J-1 non-immigrant visa allows foreign medical graduates and other professionals to participate in U.S. residency and fellowship programs, clinical training, research positions, and certain teaching or exchange programs.
  • Depending on the program structure, some J-1 participants may have to return to their home country for two years before applying for certain U.S. visas or permanent residency.
• TN: The TN nonimmigrant visa status is available to Mexican and Canadian nationals working in one of the professional occupations listed under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Many healthcare roles, such as registered nurses, medical technologists, dietitians, and physical therapists, can qualify.
• O-1: O-1 nonimmigrant visas are available to individuals who can demonstrate extraordinary ability or achievement in their specified field of expertise, as shown through sustained national or international recognition. This visa status is reserved for highly accomplished researchers, physicians, scientists, and other top-tier professionals in their industry.

Employment-Based Green Cards

The EB-2 immigrant visa category is for individuals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability in their specialty field, including physicians, certain advanced-practice nurses, physical therapists, and other highly skilled healthcare professionals.

The EB-3 immigrant visa category, on the other hand, is for skilled workers, professionals, and other workers, and includes many healthcare roles such as registered nurses (under Schedule A), medical technologists, CNAs, and other clinical or support staff who meet the minimum education and training requirements.

Strategic Immigration Support for Healthcare Employers in Columbus

Healthcare staffing shortages​ put everyone at risk. Without enough healthcare workers, Columbus may see worse patient outcomes, reduced economic potential for the region, and more difficult burdens put on existing healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, immigration can play an important role in workforce management strategies for labor shortages in healthcare​. Under the current administration, the visa and green card process has only grown more complex. New changes on the horizon for H-1B sponsorship have made the process more expensive and more complex. For instance, the proposed change for a wage-weighted H-1B lottery system, instead of a random one, is predicted to benefit larger employers who are able to offer higher salaries. This potential shift could create barriers for healthcare systems in mid-sized markets like Columbus, where compensation levels and cost-of-living metrics differ substantially from those in higher-wage regions such as New York or San Francisco.

However, with the help of an immigration attorney, hospitals and other healthcare employers can assess their options and embark on the sponsorship process with legal guidance. Brown Immigration Law has dedicated years of experience working with healthcare employers in Columbus. Our firm can help healthcare employers assess eligibility, prepare petitions, meet deadlines, ensure compliance, and more.

Reach out to us for strategic immigration assistance and counsel in the healthcare field.