Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Maryland Department of Health reports 18% vacancy rate overall, outlines retention and training steps
Summary
MDH told the Finance Committee the department’s overall merit vacancy rate was 18% as of Dec. 31, 2024, with multiple ways to present the figure (10.7% excluding new positions); officials described retention programs, pay enhancements and targeted hiring for facilities and said hiring continues for hard‑to‑fill clinical roles.
Maryland Department of Health officials told the Finance Committee Thursday that the department’s overall merit vacancy rate was 18% as of Dec. 31, 2024, and outlined recruitment and retention measures for headquarters and facility positions.
Secretary (Doctor) Scott and staff presented vacancy breakdowns: an 18% overall vacancy factor; 10.7% when excluding newly authorized positions; and higher vacancy rates in facility posts. MDH said the total headcount is 8,307 employees and reported a 93% retention rate year‑over‑year in a recent period (noted as a modest decline). The department emphasized that the vacancy figures exclude contractual staff and local health department employees.
Officials described retention and recruitment steps already in place: supervisory leadership and development programs, work‑study and learning platforms, annual pay enhancements (COLAs), within‑grade increases, longevity and targeted annual salary review adjustments for hard‑to‑fill positions (ASR requests). Secretary Scott said MDH has used ASR to make facility roles competitive for nurses, psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists.
Senators raised local public health hiring concerns and asked about HR routing for local health departments. MDH officials said some delays in filling local positions often occurred at the local level in interview and offer timelines and invited legislators to share concrete examples so MDH could investigate.
On forensic psychiatric wait lists and transfers from jails for individuals found incompetent to stand trial, MDH said the number of evaluations yielding incompetence has exceeded current bed capacity (department reported a daily wait list of about 217 people at the time of the hearing) and that length‑of‑stay and community support erosion since COVID complicate the situation. Officials said they are pursuing multiple strategies—capacity changes, operational efficiencies and upstream community interventions—but that the problem is complex and persistent.
The committee did not take formal action during the briefing.
