Travel nurses are often looked at as a costly complement to an organization's core staff nurses. However, a strategic staffing model that incorporates travel nurses and other contingent health professionals can successfully drive revenue and improve patient care.
During a July Becker's Hospital Review podcast sponsored by Ingenovis Health, Bart Valdez, chief executive officer at Ingenovis Health, discussed how a flexible staffing model can support healthcare organizations' bottom line and other metrics of success.
Four key insights were:
- Staffing shortages predated the COVID-19 pandemic, have outlived it and will likely worsen. The gap between the supply and demand for healthcare professionals started increasing rapidly about five years before the pandemic. COVID-19 exacerbated and then accelerated those shortages — and they are expected to get even worse over the next five to 10 years.
As a result of these staffing shortages, "We have to work together throughout the industry to retain the healthcare professionals that we have and develop more healthcare professionals to meet this growing demand," Mr. Valdez said. - Yes, travel nurses are more expensive, but their cost is offset by additional revenue they help generate. There is a longstanding misperception in the healthcare industry about the value of nurses — and travel nurses in particular — which impacts nursing budgets.
"We've always looked at doctors as revenue generators and at nurses as a cost component," Mr. Valdez said. "The reality is that having more nurses means you can have more beds open, thus satisfy greater patient demand and generate more revenue."
Mr. Valdez estimated the cost-benefit for a hypothetical hospital that hires 20 travel nurses, which are more costly on a per hour basis than staff nurses, to meet a surge in demand or to augment existing staff. For an average $500,000 of additional spending to hire those 20 contract nurses, the hospital can expect to realize $5.8 million in revenue, he said. This delivers an ROI of more than 10 to 1. - To make the case for increased budgets, nursing leaders can point to the potential for increased revenue and other important metrics. The value of travel or per diem nurses and other contingent health professionals lies not only in the additional revenue they can drive, but also in improvements in nurse-patient ratios, patient safety and the work environment.
"We have to make sure that we're taking care of the nurses and that we're not burdening them with so much overtime that they won't be effective in their positions," Mr. Valdez emphasized. - Supporting the needs of contingent staff can alleviate staff shortages in the long term. Ingenovis Health is not simply a facilitator of flexible staffing models; it also works with travel nurses to help them build their careers. While most flexible staffing agencies look at hiring contingent nurses for only a 13-week engagement, Ingenovis Health asks nurses what type of experiences they would like to have over the next two to three years — and helps them achieve that.
"Ingenovis Health is trying to encourage folks to stay within the healthcare profession, as well as bring new people into the profession," Mr. Valdez said.
Understanding the true value of travel or per diem nurses can help organizations deal with pressing staffing shortages, increase revenue, improve safety and the patient experience and enhance the entire work environment.