The Maine Hospital Association (MHA) has named VISTA Staffing Solutions, Inc., the exclusive, endorsed provider of temporary physician staffing for the association’s 38 acute-care member hospitals. This is the first time MHA has endorsed a provider for temporary physician staffing.
"It is in the public’s interest that we keep our member hospitals fully staffed and productive with the highest quality physicians. We are endorsing VISTA Staffing Solutions because the firm has a well-earned reputation for providing carefully credentialed, experienced physicians for short-term assignments when they are needed," said Steven Michaud, President, Maine Hospital Association.
The Maine Hospital Association’s recruitment service has an active recruitment search of an average of 135 physicians at any given time around the state. Of those unfilled positions, 55 percent are for primary care physicians and 45 percent are for specialists. It is standard practice to use physicians who choose to work in temporary assignments while permanent physicians are being recruited.
VISTA Staffing Solutions, headquartered in Salt Lake City, recruits, credentials, and places physicians in temporary assignments across the country. These physicians represent a broad range of specialties and provide vital patient care for health care organizations that are short staffed.
As the endorsed provider, VISTA will work with Associated Health Resources, a branch of MHA that coordinates central services and purchasing. VISTA also will work with the Maine Recruitment Center, MHA’s statewide physician placement service, which assists member hospitals with permanent physician recruitment.
"VISTA’s greatest strength is their responsiveness," said Dick Willett, administrator of Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, Maine. "They’re the first organization I call every time. I’m also impressed with how they screen candidates. This agreement will definitely be a plus for hospitals-and patients-in Maine."
Physicians who work in temporary assignments are called locum tenens (from the Latin, "one holding a place") physicians. Locum tenens physicians work from a few weeks to several months in practices and facilities that are actively recruiting, covering for ill or injured physicians, covering for physicians on military deployment or sabbatical, or supplementing their staff during periods of peak demand.
About the Maine Hospital Association
The Maine Hospital Association represents 38 community-governed hospitals in Maine. Formed in 1937, the Augusta-based non-profit association is the primary advocate for hospitals in the Maine State Legislature, the U.S. Congress and state and federal regulatory agencies. It also provides educational services and serves as a clearinghouse for comprehensive information for its hospital members, lawmakers and the public. MHA is a leader in developing health care policy and works to stimulate public debate on important health care issues that affect all of Maine’s citizens. For more information: www.themha.org.
Recruitment Center is a non-profit physician recruitment service launched five years ago to serve as a statewide resource for hospitals. For more information: www.themrc.org.
For more information contact:
Tammy Butts
Director of Business Development and Administration
Maine Hospital Association
207-622-4794
tbutts@themha.org
About VISTA Staffing Solutions
VISTA Staffing Solutions (www.vistastaff.com) is a leading provider of temporary physician staffing and permanent physician search services. Founded in 1990, the employee-owned company helps hospitals, medical practices and government agencies solve their physician staffing challenges. VISTA is the only agency that offers short- and long-term domestic jobs, international work opportunities, and permanent placement for physicians. The company is a founding member of the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations (NALTO).
