The occupation of "travel nurse" has been around for a very long time, but the workforce has grown exponentially since health care labor shortages began squeezing providers to choose between contract employees or shuttered wings. (And that was well before Covid-19 arrived.)
In 2022, Iowa lawmakers responded to the pleas of hospitals and care facilities by making it more cumbersome and expensive for staffing agencies to do business in Iowa. How has that worked? Well, our providers are still relying on the costly option of travel nurses. How costly is it?
Beckers' Hospital Review is sharing the statistics. In Iowa, travel nurses make 254% of what their employee/co-workers earn.
Beckers' Report: Travel Nurse vs. Employee Pay
I guess when you're 46th in the nation for nurses' pay, it's not surprising that you're third for travel nurses' pay.
Sometimes it is about the money. Think of it as hazard pay.