It was supposed to be the first look at next year's budget proposal for Parkland Memorial Hospital. Instead, the hour-long meeting Tuesday with the Dallas County Commissioners turned into a gripe session about staffing problems at the county hospital. Ted Shaw, Parkland's interim chief financial officer, said there were more than 800 job openings at the hospital, many of them nursing and clinical positions. Nursing turnover is running more than 18 percent annually, he said, which forces Parkland to rely on temporary or contract nurses. "Our goal is to get below 10 percent," he added.
