The effects of high patient volumes and fewer available staff aren’t just adding extra stress to facility managers.
These challenges are directly impacting patients.
As facilities scramble to address these issues, which continue to compound. Patients are unable to access the care they need due to lowered bed availability, high staff-to-patient ratios, or, in extreme cases, entire facilities shutting down.
Unfortunately, these obstacles are common. Behavioral health facilities are entering a new wave of challenges when it comes to staffing. The need for specialized care is expanding, and in states like California, the government is cracking down on staffing ratios.
In order to maintain operability, behavioral health facilities are pivoting to solutions that allow them to work with these changes.
The Nestled Recovery Center
The Nestled Recovery Center, a drug and alcohol detox center located in Nevada, has been experiencing staffing strains since 2022, which is what led them to Medely.
We spoke with Dawn Hillock, director of nursing, to learn more about how she’s used Medely to address staffing gaps, eliminating any staffing problems before they impact patients.
Dawn recently joined The Nestled Recovery Center back in January, and the facility had been posting shifts to Medely for years. With little onboarding, she was able to seamlessly adjust to Medely’s system for filling shifts.
“You guys are consistent and fill our staffing needs,” Dawn shared. “Medely’s really helped me in finding quality nurses on short notice because usually it’s call-outs or changes in the schedule that we need Medely for.”
As a drug and alcohol detox center, The Nestled Recovery Center has strict requirements for nurses and health professionals. The sensitive care the facility provides requires that nurses and health professionals have a solid background in this specialty to avoid imbalances or lapses in care.
“We have a challenging population working in a drug and alcohol facility,” Dawn shared. “I need to fill in those gaps when I get call-outs and need reliable nurses who want the positions and are asking to be staffed.”
The need for consistency with behavioral health facilities
As DON, Dawn’s priority is consistency for her patient population, so relying on Medely’s favorites feature has been key to maintaining that consistency and top-quality care.
Consistency is necessary for positive patient outcomes, and this especially rings true for behavioral health. With regular nurses and health professionals picking up shifts, patients can get to know the entire staff better, facilitating a less stressful healing environment for those recovering from substance abuse.
“The nurses we’ve gotten are excellent and work well and integrate well with our full-time staff,” Dawn shared. “One of our favorites, Marquita, went above and beyond to go into our stock medications and label which ones were expiring. She goes above and beyond. Another one of our favorites, Hayley, also goes above and beyond, and she will do anything asked of her. She’s always asking for new challenges and new things she can help me with.”
Medely’s favorites feature allows administrators like Dawn to easily book the same nurses and health professionals over again. Certain personalities or skillsets work better in certain facilities, so the favorites feature puts the power in your hands to find and book repeat nurses and health professionals, balancing the need for a fluid staffing strategy with the need for reliability.
Results with Medely
Even as regulations are tightening and staffing gaps continue, Dawn feels confident that she’ll be able to maneuver any hiccups that come up thanks to Medely.
The nurses and health professionals Dawn has booked through Medely not only have the caliber she needs to ensure quality patient care, but they’re just as excited about picking up shifts at The Nestled Recovery Center.
“I haven’t even looked into other competitors because I’m satisfied with what you guys provide,” Dawn shared. “I’m able to post shifts quickly, and people are usually bending over backwards to get the shifts. They want every shift available.”
Since starting with Medely in 2022, The Nestled Recovery Center has maintained a 97% shift fill rate, and the average shift is filled in 11 minutes. Medely has opened up time for Dawn to focus on high-level tasks, such as strategy, hiring, and budgeting, without having to chase down the right staff; all she has to do is hit ‘post shift,’ and she knows Medely has her covered.
Find staff for your behavioral health facility with Medely
Finding the right staff when you need it shouldn’t take you hours. Eliminate unnecessary staffing stress with Medely’s AI-powered staffing solution. Want to learn more about addressing behavioral health staffing stress? Check out our latest blog post.
