Becker’s Webinar: Overcoming Staffing Challenges in Healthcare Systems

A comprehensive Workforce Optimization Review is one of the most potent cost-savings tools in a healthcare system's arsenal. When introduced as part of a proactive approach to recruiting, a workforce optimization review can help healthcare organizations overcome clinician burnout and financial roadblocks. But how can you use a review to optimize your staffing? And how can a review help you deploy short-term and long-term staffing strategies?

Becker's Hospital Review and VISTA recently co-hosted a webinar addressing these questions and others facing healthcare systems. VISTA's Chief Operating Officer, Andrea Nelson, and Senior Vice-President, Adam Rousey, hosted the webinar, which armed administrators with solutions to common challenges facing today's healthcare organizations. Below is a review of this VISTA Webinar and the key to improving your workforce management.

What are some common challenges facing today's healthcare systems?

The current climate within the healthcare industry has created challenges within the recruiting arena. While some of these challenges can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, others are prevalent during normal operations. Here are a few of the top obstacles facing healthcare systems:

• • Clinician burnout: Providers who were overworked during and after the COVID-19 pandemic are at increased risk for burnout and stress.

  • Virtual recruiting challenges: Navigating the virtual recruiting landscape is not always easy.

  • Poor work-life balance: Recruitment has become more difficult because some providers face increasing demands at home and at work.

  • Early retirement: Burnout and competing priorities have contributed to a recent surge in providers choosing to retire early.

  • Budgetary constraints: Despite a surge in patients with COVID-19, many healthcare systems faced dramatically reduced budgets.

How can a strategic partner like VISTA help you overcome these challenges?

Overcoming challenges is not always easy. Sometimes healthcare administrators feel forced to sacrifice their long-term plans in order to meet their immediate needs. And in some cases, competing priorities and funding limits can further erode depleted resources.

As a respected voice in the healthcare staffing industry, VISTA helps organizations utilize the internal and external resources they have available. The end results are improved staffing efficiency and higher quality patient care. Here are some specific ways VISTA helps health systems escape constraints and overcome challenges:

• • Establish a foundation of trust: The path to healthcare excellence begins with transparency and trust. When decisions are based on real-time reporting and data, the right people can be put in place within an organization.

  • Propose solutions that are feasible to implement: Top-tier staffing partners know that system-wide solutions take time and effort to implement. VISTA communicated with healthcare administrators to develop solutions that are cost-effective and relatively straightforward to introduce.

  • Foster accountability: Making data-based decisions is a great start for healthcare systems. However, metrics should be used to determine whether the proper course of action was taken or whether new solutions are necessary.

  • Always be mindful of budgetary concerns: The world's best staffing partners develop solutions with the healthcare organization's budget in mind. They view issues such as clinician shortages through a cost-savings lens to choose solutions that minimize spending.

  • Balance immediate needs with long-term plans: VISTA's healthcare staffing specialists help prevent long-term plans from being sacrificed to meet immediate needs. This is often accomplished by helping the leadership team shift from a reactive approach to a proactive approach.

What are the four key takeaways from the VISTA webinar?

Establishing a relationship with a trusted staffing partner is a proven way to overcome the host of challenges currently facing hospitals and medical centers. By capitalizing on the benefits above, your organization can maximize your budget and boost profits. Here are four points to keep in mind from the VISTA webinar:

1. Finding the right partner is essential for success.

Not all staffing partners are created equal. Ideally, the staffing partner you choose should have a proven track record of success in the healthcare industry. Additionally, the partner you choose should have a keen understanding of today's competitive marketplace. Most importantly, you should trust your partner and feel confident that they have the resources to grow in tandem with your healthcare organization.

2. Decisions should reflect current data as opposed to feelings or hunches.

Basing critical decisions on "guesses," "hunches," or "feelings" can lead to wasted resources and biased decision-making. Unfortunately, survey research suggests that over half of organizations still base decisions on gut feelings instead of data and information. Key decisions should reflect a careful analysis of current data as well as notable trends that become evident while reviewing data.

3. Balancing human resources with technology is critical.

Leading healthcare staffing partners understand the vital role that human resources and technology each play in achieving healthcare objectives. In particular, it's important to utilize internal and external staffing resources to fill gaps and ensure high-quality patient care. A healthcare organization's dependency on labor companies can be reduced or virtually eliminated through a strategic approach and data-based decision-making.

4. VISTA helps organizations save millions of dollars while focusing on patient care.

At the end of the day, most healthcare systems are focused on two things: patient care and profit margins. VISTA is committed to helping healthcare organizations achieve their goals in these two areas without overspending. Periodic workforce optimization reviews can help healthcare administrators determine whether existing solutions are working and how they should be tweaked to improve performance.

How can you put your organization on the path to staffing excellence?

Clearly, there are many reasons to improve your health system's staffing model. By working with a partner who values transparency and accountability, you can rest assured that your staffing needs will be addressed swiftly and strategically.

You can put your healthcare system on the path to staffing excellence today by reaching out to VISTA at 1-844-607-5828. As your trusted staffing partner, we will conduct a workforce optimization review to identify your opportunities for improvement and help you maximize your cost savings. We look forward to delivering the five-star staffing resources you deserve!

Hear more about what Andrea and Adam had to say by clicking the image below: