A Mississippi hospital is offering $5,000 bonuses for qualified nurses as it works to recruit staff during a pandemic and at a time when healthcare workers are in short supply.

WCBI reports that Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle is offering a number of incentives including the bonus as it works to recruit amidst a nationwide nursing shortage. Johnny Judson is responsible for recruiting nurses for the hospital.

“I am literally in every school, nursing school, in the area, including along the Alabama boarder,” he told the station. “I go up to north Mississippi, south Mississippi and I go to these nursing schools and I talk to these students.”

He said the country’s nursing shortage has been going on for years and the coronavirus pandemic has made things worse. The bonus is for registered nurses with at least two years of experience. Judson stressed that there are no shortcuts when it comes to hiring new staff.

“We put incentives in place to attract more people but we don’t lower the standards,” he said.

Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle is part Baptist Memorial Health Care — a network of a 22 hospitals across Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Kimberley Alexander, Public Relations Manager for the organization, said most of the larger hospitals in the group are offering the bonus.