Amid a shortage of nurses, Billings (Mont.) Clinic is hiring international workers from multiple countries.
The health system is bringing in the nurses through a partnership with Avant Healthcare Professionals, a Florida-based company that provides international nurses to healthcare organizations in the U.S., spokesperson Zach Benoit told Becker's.
As of December, the health system had three nurses through its international nurse program, all from Thailand or the Philippines. Billings expects about 20 additional international nurses to arrive at the health system this year, from multiple countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.
"The goal of this program is for these nurses to transition into permanent employees," Mr. Benoit said. "They're a part of our team from the moment they agree to come here, and we want them to make Billings Clinic their forever home."
He said Billings is currently hiring for about 120 nursing positions and will continue to bring in international nurses as appropriate and, hopefully, have them transition in several years to permanent employee status.
Billings is not the only health system to bring in international nurses. Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, for example, in September 2021 revived its strategy of recruiting nurses from the Philippines. And the American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment reported in September that more than 5,000 international nurses were waiting on embassies and consulates to schedule processing interviews.