When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the cost of qualified clinicians rose by $24 billion for healthcare organizations. In addition, clinical labor costs increased by 8% per patient, leading to a 52% increase in overtime.
Emergency, ICU, and nursing departments face a nearly double annual turnover rate, increasing from 18% pre-pandemic to 30% by August 2021. This number may grow, given the current physician shortage and the vast number of clinicians feeling symptoms of burnout. So what are the benefits of a healthcare staffing agency, and how can it help your organization provide better patient care?
1. Access to more qualified candidates
With a rapid rise in the need for qualified staffing, the last thing an organization should have to worry about is finding and interviewing candidates.
By partnering with a healthcare staffing firm like VISTA, we can provide sourcing, screening, and interviewing services to our extensive database of qualified candidates that meet your requirements.
2. A larger pool of professionals
Partnering with a leading healthcare staffing agency doesn't only get you immediate access to qualified candidates in your area. You also get your pick of travel health professionals nationwide.
With the current clinician shortage in healthcare facilities, VISTA has exclusive relationships with traveling healthcare professionals, giving your organization the ability to fill temporary positions quickly.
3. Greater flexibility
The key benefit offered by VISTA is the capability to cover different job requirements from the service of a single partner. This includes seeking permanent staff or temporary replacements to provide a roster for on-call services. For example, most staffing firms only cover certain specialties, like CRNAs or RNs. VISTA is a unique partner that is flexible and offers different specialties and placement types.
Flexibility is essential to any organization, especially with the current inconsistencies in the healthcare system. VISTA benefits you as a hands-on healthcare staffing firm by addressing labor concerns in present economic uncertainty.
4. More productivity
Healthcare staffing firms succeed in the quality of the professionals they recommend. Therefore, they thoroughly screen and vet every employee they provide to guarantee they're qualified and credentialed.
VISTA selects staff that will fit within your culture and best meet the qualifications of the role you're looking to fill. Then, after a proper onboarding within your system, they are ready to hit the ground running. The result is more time to focus on high-priority tasks and more productivity from the recommended professionals.
5. Reliability
Your organization may experience seasonal surges, and you may find yourself in sudden need of additional clinical staff. In these situations, a healthcare staffing firm provides around-the-clock support.
With VISTA, we offer on-call clinical staff along with a pool of skilled professional workers ready to hit the ground running.
6. Operational goals and revenue retention
Some healthcare staffing firms are strategic enough to relieve revenue loss by improving staff retention and cost-effectiveness. They employ advanced workforce management tools and complimentary resources to help you achieve your operational goals.
Organizations yield substantial ROI and meet their goals by reducing overhead costs when working with a partner like VISTA through programs like VISTA Select, our workforce optimization review, and our MSP and VMS technology.
7. Finding providers that will fit the culture of the health system
The best healthcare staffing firms don't approach requisitions as one-off engagements. Instead, they seek out closely-knit relationships with their clients. Thus, allowing them to evaluate and understand the qualifications of the required candidates.
Partnering with a healthcare staffing firm like VISTA allows assessable intangible factors that would make a candidate a good fit for the organization's culture. Finding an appropriate culture fit for the health system avoids the possibility of a bad hire, whose turnover cost is 21% of their first year's salary.
Partner with a Healthcare Staffing Firm
As the healthcare labor market gets more competitive amidst shortages, agency and temporary labor usage have risen by 132% for full-time workers and 131% for part-time workers. In addition, hospitals, clinics, and healthcare systems across the country are facing shortages as physicians try to cope with burnout.
Here at VISTA, we're dedicated to being our clients' strategic workforce optimization partner. Our deep industry expertise and exclusive locums MSP technology help health systems, hospitals, practices, and government entities build and sustain effective workforce models that ensure patient access to care and organizational stability. Covering more than 60 specialties, we staff physicians, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, and physician assistants to help our clients preserve revenue and maintain profitability. Contact a VISTA Expert today to get started.
