Since the early stages of COVID-19, Medical Solutions has worked with hospitals and state agencies to ensure hospitals were supported for a rapid influx of COVID-19 cases. Healthcare staffing agencies have had a unique opportunity in the past 6 plus months that will continue to inform and shape the pandemic response nationwide.
Here are a few ways we are helping:
- Creating new roles to address ICU shortage: To help ease ICUs as the pandemic spreads, Medical Solutions found unique ways to aid ICUs despite a shortage of ICU nurses. One solution was to staff these units with resource RNs – who were often travel nurses with specialties that were temporarily not in demand, such as OR nurses – to offset rising nurse-to-patient ratios.
- Leveraging alternative care sites: Medical Solutions worked with state agencies like the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to quickly assemble alternative care sites for COVID-19 testing. Within four business days, our team had successfully recruited and hired temporary healthcare professionals for NEMA’s University of Nebraska-Omaha site, which was the first of four to open in coordination with NEMA and the Nebraska National Guard. At its peak, we were managing approximately 45 temporary healthcare professionals across four sites, helping to isolate and quarantine individuals, and lessen the chance of spreading the virus.
- Adjusting terms: Medical Solutions worked with hundreds of customers to realign terms specific to the pandemic, including policies around billing and cancelation. These changes gave our clients more flexibility and ultimately saved them money.
- Collecting and sharing regional data: Because COVID-19 has impacted our clients across the country at different times and rates, we’ve been able to use our knowledge and findings to make staffing recommendations based on decreases or influxes in cases. Having this repository of information and analytics has positioned Medical Solutions as a leader in the healthcare staffing industry and has been key to our clients’ success during this critical time.
Now as we approach the flu season along with the ongoing COVID-19 surges, Medical Solutions is working non-stop with hospitals to prepare their facilities for a potential uptick in ER visits and bed needs. We are also ready to support with immediate staffing solutions for a possible emergence of drive-thru clinics to test for both COVID-19 and influenza.
If you are interested in learning more about our services and how we are supporting healthcare staffing demands, learn more here or call us at 866-633-3548.