On November 13, 2019, SimpliFi’s team released a set of travel nursing trends after comparing data from the summer of 2018 to the summer of 2019. This is what we discovered:
- Travel nursing increased 44%
- The top four growing specialties all fall within critical care, with each at an increased rate of 60% or higher
- Nursing hourly rates have not increased with the rise in demand
- 21 of the 22 travel nurse specialties saw an uptick in demand, with only endoscopy remaining the same
So what can these facts tell us about what’s happening in the industry and how hospitals can manage their reliance on contract labor? How can health systems continue to improve outcomes while effectively reducing costs? At least two things are immediately clear:
- Visibility on workforce details is not a luxury, but a necessity. Readily available insights into spending and workforce utilization are paramount to get a handle on how to address the increase in contingent labor. As expenses rise, health systems must be vigilant about assessing and optimizing their resources in order to ensure uninterrupted service delivery while maintaining the highest clinical standards.
- Shoring up current resources is critical. Without being able to retain or develop core nursing staff, health systems can easily find themselves signing endless checks for contingent labor and overtime that cut deep into their budgets.
In summary, health systems must manage their contingent labor intelligently, build up their current resources, and reduce spending — all while maintaining clinical excellence. But how?
Today’s Workforce Challenges Require Innovative Solutions
This is what SimpliFi specifically partners with health systems to do — and our results speak for themselves. Our process begins with gathering clinical intelligence throughout our clients’ health systems and providing them with customized ways to solve their toughest workforce challenges. Here are your advantages when you partner with SimpliFi:
- Using our ClariFi Analytics platform, you receive key visibility into your contingent labor workforce — easily accessible any time of day or night, on multiple devices — so you can utilize your resources in the best possible way.
- We focus on training and retaining your core nursing staff through our new graduate RN transition-to-practice program, which builds confidence as it increases competence. We help you address the critical shortage of preceptors so you can keep the excellent nurses you already have in order to prevent costly turnover and reduce the need to supplement as heavily with contingent labor.
- Your team of experts dedicated to the partnership are there to help navigate proactive strategies to reduce your reliance on spend.
In partnering with you in a way unlike any other MSP, we work to reduce your agency and premium labor spend while ensuring that you always have the clinicians you need, when you need them. Our intensive vetting process and adherence to compliance and credentialing standards allows you to obtain staff who are a clinical match for your health system. And if you want to convert travelers to FTEs, we won’t stand in your way. We want you to always have the right people, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, so that you can continue providing the highest level of care for your patients during every season.
Start Writing Smaller Checks for Contingent Labor
If you’re ready to start writing smaller checks for contingent labor, contact our team today. We can conduct a thorough, customized assessment of your health system and create a plan that will help you reduce costs while maintaining clinical excellence.