Staffing nurses in a long-term acute care hospital is like conducting a symphony, with the chief nursing officer orchestrating the delicate balance between providing seamless care, retaining skilled staff, and adhering to budgetary constraints. So, what happens when there are not enough nurses to fill shifts?
CNOs typically turn to staffing agencies to cover shift vacancies and ensure safe, sufficient patient care. However, this traditional approach is an expensive, short-term solution to the nursing shortage. So, as LTACH margins lag other providers and continue to trend downward, it's time for hospitals to seek out alternative staffing strategies that promote labor savings and long-term success.
Research shows that insufficient nursing staff can create adverse outcomes that cause patients to stay longer as an inpatient, thereby increasing care delivery expenses.
On Demand Healthcare Workforce Strategy
ShiftMed understands what it takes to provide appropriate, high-quality care to medically complex patients and boost your LTACH's long-term financial health.
Our on-demand healthcare platform takes a comprehensive approach to nurse staffing—blending strategy, technology, and labor—so you can boost your operational efficiency, drive cost savings, and maintain quality care continuity.
More specifically, here are seven reasons ShiftMed On Demand Healthcare is critical to your LTACH staffing:
1. Credential Checks
ShiftMed nurses meet all federal and state requirements for professional practice. We also integrate your hospital's unique credential requirements into our platform and verify them for you.
2. Reduced Risks
ShiftMed nurses are W-2 employees, so we can ensure their full compliance with labor laws and regulations. We are also legally and financially responsible for them while they work at your hospital.
3. Fluctuating Demand
ShiftMed nurses make it easy for your hospital to adapt effortlessly to fluctuations in patient census and acuity levels. In other words, you can maintain ideal staffing ratios and consistently sustain quality care.
4. Labor Savings
Your hospital can reduce costs associated with overstaffing or underutilizing resources by aligning staffing levels with patient needs. You can also reduce your reliance on expensive travel contracts. And last but not least, you can add ShiftMed nurses to your full-time staff without a buyout fee.
5. Diverse Skill Mix
Access a pool of skilled and specialized CNAs, LPNs, and RNS to cater to unique patient needs. From complex medical conditions to specialized care requirements, our nurses have specialized credentials in acute care, intensive care, medical-surgical care, emergency room care, and more.
6. Workforce Balance
Our nurses can help alleviate the hefty workloads placed on permanent nursing staff, reducing burnout and turnover rates. Giving your internal staff a break helps keep them motivated and focused on delivering top-notch patient care.
7. Data Insights
Access to real-time staffing insights empowers your hospital to make strategic, data-driven decisions that optimize resource allocation and elevate patient safety. Task automation also helps enhance your scheduling efficiency while minimizing administrative burdens.
Three U.S. studies reported that the higher use of contingent staff does not affect mortality and that higher levels of non-permanent staff yield lower levels of adverse events and fewer medication errors.
Conclusion
The traditional approach to nurse staffing in long-term acute care hospitals often falls short in addressing the complexities of maintaining seamless patient care while adhering to budgetary constraints.
ShiftMed's on-demand healthcare workforce strategy offers a promising solution to these challenges by providing a comprehensive approach to nurse staffing that integrates strategy, technology, and labor.
By leveraging ShiftMed's platform, your LTACH can benefit from several critical advantages, from maintaining ideal staffing ratios to reducing overtime costs to gaining valuable data insights for strategic decision-making.
Book a demo today to see what ShiftMed can do for your long-term acute care hospital.