How Contingent Nurses Help Drive Revenue, Improve Patient Safety And Enhance The Work Environment

Travel nurses are often viewed as an expensive supplement to an organization's central staff nurses. However, a strategic workforce model that includes mobile nurses and other allied health professionals can generate revenue and improve patient care.

During the July Baker Hospital Review podcast sponsored by Ingenovis Health, Bart Valdez, CEO of Ingenovis Health, discussed how a flexible workforce model can support healthcare organizations' bottom lines and other measures of success.

There were four key ideas:

1. Labor shortages predate the Covid-19 pandemic, have survived and may worsen. The gap between the supply and demand of health workers began to widen rapidly five years before the outbreak. Covid-19 has exacerbated and accelerated this deficit and is expected to worsen over the next 5-10 years.

   Because of this labor shortage, "we need to work together across the industry to retain the health care workers we have and to produce more health care workers to meet this growing demand," Valdez said.

2. Yes, traveling nurses are expensive, but their costs are offset by the extra income they earn. There is a longstanding misconception in the healthcare industry about the cost of nurses, and specifically travel nurses, affecting nursing budgets.

   "We've always looked at doctors as revenue generators and nurses as a cost component," Valdez said. "The reality is that more nurses open more beds, so we can meet greater patient demand and generate more revenue."

   Mr. Valdez estimated the cost-benefit ratio of hiring 20 mobile nurses at an expensive hourly rate to meet increased demand or to supplement existing staff. He said the hospital is expected to incur $5.8 million in additional costs averaging $500,000 to hire those 20 contract nurses. It offers an ROI greater than 10 to 1.

3. Nurse leaders can demonstrate higher revenue and other important metrics to support growing budgets. The value of travel or day nurses and other allied health professionals is not only in the additional income they can earn, but also in improving the nurse-patient relationship, patient safety and work environment.

   "We have to make sure that we take care of the nurses and not put too many extra hours on them," Valdez emphasized.

4. Supporting emergency workforce needs can alleviate long-term workforce shortages. Ingenovis Health not only offers flexible staffing models; He works with traveling nurses to help them grow their careers. While most flexible staffing agencies try to hire nursing assistants for only a 13-week commitment, Ingenovis Health asks nurses what experiences they want to gain in the next two to three years and helps them achieve that goal.

   "Ingenovis Health wants to encourage people to stay in the healthcare profession, as well as attract new people to the profession," said Valdez.

Understanding the true value of day or travel nurses can help organizations address staff shortages, increase revenue, improve safety and patient experience, and improve the overall work environment.

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