Scripps Health reported higher employee retention and strong engagement scores in a national workforce analysis published by Becker’s Hospital Review, which highlighted health systems posting gains in retention, engagement, and turnover measures. Becker’s reported that San Diego-based Scripps improved its voluntary retention rate from 89% to 92% over the past 12 months, identifying retention as the system’s most improved workforce metric.

Eric Cole, Scripps’ corporate senior vice president of human resources, told Becker’s that, “This improvement was driven by targeted actions that strengthened the employee experience, as reflected in our most recent employee listening survey.” He said employee engagement “remained strong at the 86th percentile,” while “a continued sense of belonging at the 85th percentile provided a stable foundation for retention.”

Cole told Becker’s that Scripps also improved several drivers of employees’ intent to stay, including fair pay, adequate staffing, tools and resources, and patient safety. “Collectively, these improvements reflect deliberate decisions to invest in compensation fairness, strengthen staffing models, enhance operational support, and reinforce a culture of safety,” he said.

Placing the Scripps update in a broader workforce context, Becker’s noted that while healthcare continues to add jobs nationally, hospital hiring has decelerated, with at least 11 workforce reductions announced in 2026 thus far. The publication also cited an Indeed survey finding that 2 in 5 healthcare workers say their jobs feel unsustainable and 1 in 4 are considering leaving the field.

Elsewhere in California, El Camino Health in Mountain View told Becker’s it reduced nurse turnover to about 5% after pandemic-era attrition peaked at 12.7%, aided in part by a nurse retention specialist focused on career development. “Gen Z nurses in particular want to know what’s next,” Chief Nursing Officer Cheryl Reinking told Becker’s. “They’re always looking for growth opportunities and want to learn more.”

In separate workforce coverage, Becker’s reported that health systems are continuing to protect investments in leadership development, career pathways, employee well-being, and benefits. The American Medical Association also reported that health systems are using approaches including mentorship and professional support to help physicians feel “valued, supported, and inspired to stay.”