Accountable Healthcare - When 13 Weeks Is Not Enough
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June 25, 2019

When 13 Weeks Is Not Enough

You know the drill, your hospital’s census increased all weekend. You are embarking on a busy time of the year with your staff taking a vacation, FMLA and a handful who have just given two weeks notice because their spouse is relocating, another took a new job offer and another is going back to school.

You are in need of talented, seasoned Registered Nurses who can come to your hospital and begin caring for your patients immediately. However, you know that when their 13-week contract ends, you will have to go through this process again: interviewing, training and acclimating a new Registered Nurse.

Accountable Healthcare Staffing offers 26, 39 and 52-week contracts to avoid any interruption in your staffing. Here is a list of the advantages of a longer contract that you may have you reconsidering your next travel nurse contract.

Clinical impact: Overall improvement on patient outcomes and HCAHP scores

  • Increases continuity and quality of care for patients
  • Expands the value of the nurse as it is more likely for agency staff to become Unit Managers, Charge Nurses, and Preceptors with more familiarity to the facility is gained over time
  • Higher percentage of successful conversion to permanent staff as the agency staff can become more familiarized to the surrounding areas and with the facility
  • Reduction of risk through improved patient outcomes and patient satisfaction as the agency staff will be more engaged with and accountable to facility’s culture
  • Reduction in negative impact from seasonal demands on census and staff

Financial impact: Reduction of contingent labor cost and provides more consistency in budgeting

  • Can offer more competitive rates for longer contracts
  • Reduction in operational cost as a result of less resources needed for interviewing, credentialing, and training agency staff
  • Locking in agency contracts rates for longer periods of time will prevent incremental increases from one assignment to the next as well as provide greater consistency in budgeting

Operational impact: Increases efficiencies in onboarding new staff while reducing the amount of time the facilities are considered under-staffed.

  • Reduces the amount of time needed for interviewing, credentialing, and training agency staff
  • Increases continuity for direct staff with fewer number of agency staff yielding a stronger sense of comradery
  • Increases the ability of agency staff to provide preceptorship to new in-experienced staff hired directly
  • Reduction in amount of time facility is understaffed between agency staff assignments

A longer contract with an Accountable Nurse may make more sense and be beneficial for your facility clinically, financially and operationally. For more information on finding qualified Nurses and what Accountable has to offer, please contact Danny Murray at (561) 302-2444 or danielmurray@ahcstaff.com.