When he was the Operator of a large independent infusion pharmacy, John Loew experienced staffing shortages that affected team morale, business productivity, and — most importantly — patient care.
“The most important thing we do in healthcare — the “why” behind it — is always to provide great patient care. Everything we do should be centered around providing the best possible outcome for the patient,” John explains.
“And on the business front, it’s just as important to maintain productivity so business grows efficiently and effectively. But with staffing shortages, what are the first two things that suffer? You guessed it: great patient care and productivity.”
It’s a harsh reality many medical teams and facilities are faced with:
The demand for skilled medical professionals outweighs supply.
Employee burnout is at an all-time-high and nearly a quarter of workers are leaving (or planning to leave) their jobs.
And costs are soaring thanks largely to inflation and competitive staffing compensation.
For many healthcare HR and Operational leaders, it begs the question: why would I spend more money to partner with a(nother) healthcare staffing agency?
Why Partner with a Healthcare Staffing Agency
With the right healthcare staffing partner, businesses and patients can thrive. John made the decision to partner with a healthcare staffing agency to get his facility back up to speed, and never looked back.
“Agency staff saved us in a lot of ways,” he says. “As much as some like to believe that agencies cost more money than running short-staffed, it’s simply not accurate.”
In Johns’ experience, there are three key reasons why partnering with a healthcare staffing agency makes financial sense. We break them down below.
Staff Retention
Thanks to larger workloads, increased harassment (even violence), and longer hours, burnout among medical professionals has reached crisis levels.
Being appropriately staffed helps retain valuable staff members by ensuring a work/life balance that’s necessary for their mental and physical well-being.
Meet your staff where they are and ask them what they need. When you take the steps to care for your staff and show nurses gratitude and appreciation beyond a free lunch, they are more likely to stay and remain loyal.
Patient Care
“Everyone suffers when patient care suffers,” says Loew. “To me, staffing services are way less expensive than the alternative.”
Alternatives that can cost your company money and brand reputation:
Distracted staff who are more likely to make mistakes when treating patients.
Patients not receiving the full attention they deserve from their stressed out caregiver.
Delayed care for patients because you just don’t have the bandwidth to treat them as quick as they might need.
Staff quitting — or worse, leaving the profession altogether with no desire to return, even after positive changes are made.
The best healthcare staffing agencies provide quality healthcare workers who are vetted, qualified, and compassionate — so you can confidently count on agency staff to provide the same level of care that your regular staff would.
Growth
Finally, partnering with a healthcare staffing agency can result in growing your business. When you are fully staffed, patients receive the best care and your company is positioned for growth.
In John’s case, it effectively helped the company grow 25% in six months.
“As an Operator, it was my job to ensure we met productivity levels without sacrificing patient care. Once we were successfully staffed, it allowed me to focus on our growth strategy and identify new areas for advancement.”
Eventually, the infusion pharmacy caught up and no longer needed healthcare staffing services, but John is adamant about the benefits of using a staffing agency. “Our business thrived from using a staffing service. It was a great option to have.”
Why Alliance Healthcare Solutions?
Now the Vice President of Business Development for Alliance Health Solutions, John is fully immersed in the healthcare staffing industry and helps organizations realize the value of using a healthcare staffing agency.
As a solutions-based company, AHS offers a wide scope of healthcare talent solutions and can be more than just a per-diem partner at the facility level. At a corporate level, Alliance Healthcare can assist with all aspects of recruiting and staffing to make a lasting impact on an organization.
“We’re not a frustrating and impersonal app-based staffing model,” John says. “Ultimately, our communication, candidate quality, and service experience is why clients choose Alliance for their healthcare staffing needs.”
How to Find the Right Healthcare Staffing Partner
It can be hard to understand and identify the differences between multiple healthcare staffing vendors — not to mention what makes one better for your business than another. To help, we’ve compiled a list of what healthcare leaders have indicated are key characteristics of top healthcare staffing agencies, in their experiences.
