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Officials Seek 15 Percent Pay Raise for N.H. State Prison Nurses

CREDIT CREDIT MIKECOGH VIA FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

  Nurses in New Hampshire's state prisons may be getting a salary bump.

The Department of Corrections is asking executive councilors to approve $239,000 for a 15 percent pay increase over the next five months. Officials say the department has a hard time remaining competitive with the private sector in recruiting and keeping nurses. Roughly 19 percent of the state's 48 prison nursing positions were vacant last fiscal year.

Ryan Landry, nursing coordinator at the Concord men's prison, says nurses are often asked to work 12- or 16-hour shifts because there isn't enough staff. He says working in a corrections environment can be challenging.

Nurses at the state psychiatric hospital and New Hampshire Veterans Home have recently received raises.

Nursing positions see some of the highest turnover rates in state government.

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