As facilities continue to experience difficulties keeping up with the growing demand for nurses and health professionals, Medely is committed to providing a streamlined solution for addressing staffing shortages through our tech-enabled, all-in-one platform. Our newest launch market in Indianapolis will assist facilities in remaining fully staffed so they’re ready to take on any challenge that comes their way.
Staffing Shortages in Indianapolis
Like the majority of the country, Indianapolis has experienced a drastic decline in the number of nurses and health professionals. The Indiana Hospital Association estimates that “Indiana currently has nearly 4,300 job openings for nurses each year, and we are projected to need an additional 5,000 nurses by 2031 to meet the growing demands of an aging population. In other words, on average, Indiana would need to graduate 1,300 additional nurses per year until 2030 to meet the state’s current health care needs.”
Without enough nurses and health professionals in the area to keep up with the increasing demand, the Indiana government has worked to pass bills, like House Bill 1003 in 2022, that helped increase the number of nurses that are in nursing programs and create broader parameters so that nurses at the end of their programs can work more clinical hours. In 2024, Indiana passed House Bill 1259, which makes some exceptions for nursing instructors. According to the Indiana Chamber, “HB 1259 seeks to expand the nursing workforce by streamlining licensure for foreign-educated nurses and increasing on-the-ground training opportunities. Building on a 2022 nursing bill, HB 1259 proposes giving hospitals the flexibility to waive an 18-month clinical experience requirement for instructors. Proponents argue this will allow more experienced nurses to mentor student nurses, ultimately increasing the number of graduates entering the workforce.”
Indiana University is also working hard to help solve the crisis by working toward increased enrollment rates for its nursing program. Indiana University shares that “the School of Nursing on the Indianapolis campus recently completed renovations —including increased lab and simulation space, as well as the expansion of classrooms and student spaces — that are in place for the increased enrollment.” Through their work to expand the programs, they’ve exceeded their goal of “increasing first-year enrollment by 50%.”
With the Indiana government, nursing programs, and facilities working together, the hope is that the number of new nurses and health professionals will increase, leading to a more stable healthcare workforce that’s able to provide the care necessary for a large population.
Simplifying Contingent Staffing
While Indianapolis works to expand its nursing workforce, facilities need immediate solutions to address the current nursing crisis. Through tools like Medely, facilities can supplement their full-time staff and bridge staffing gaps that continue to arise. By utilizing data and technology, Medely provides an easy option for filling shifts and creating an extended workforce proactively so that facilities can plan ahead. Medely has two offerings, Talent Marketplace and Talent Fusion.
With Medely’s Talent Marketplace, facilities get instant access to our local marketplace of nurses and health professionals within their area. When a shift gets posted to our Talent Marketplace, it gets sent to all the qualified Medely health professionals within the market, giving them the opportunity to pick up the shift. All nurses and healthcare professionals on the Medely platform are verified and credentialed, eliminating the need for facilities to spend extra time confirming licenses, certifications, or skills.
With our Talent Fusion offering, facilities get access to our entire extended workforce solution, including the Talent Marketplace. Talent Fusion enables facilities to manage their entire extended workforce in one centralized platform, including their internal pool, Medely’s external pool, and the facility’s agencies. With our workforce automation system, shifts are filled with the lowest-cost staffing option first to help reduce costs and provide the most efficient solution. When a shift is posted, it goes through the facility’s internal resource pool first. If nobody in the internal pool can take the shift, it’s offered to the Talent Marketplace where credentialed Medely nurses and health professionals can pick it up. If nobody picks up the shift in the marketplace, it’s sent to Medely’s VMS and to the facility’s staffing agencies as a last option.
Addressing the Four Cs
By using Medely, facilities can help address the four Cs that are crucial to creating an efficient extended workforce—churn, costs, coverage, and control. When facilities are able to address the four Cs in their strategy, they can create a plan that works for their individual needs so they’re prepared for current and future staffing.
Churn
Creating an extended workforce strategy is key to reducing churn in facilities. When staffing gaps inevitably arise, facilities can integrate the staffing plan they’ve created through careful planning based on facility data. Looking into previous years can help provide facilities with key information, such as busy times of the year, when staff numbers dipped low, and nurse-to-patient ratios. After looking at the data, facilities can take note of patterns that can help them plan accordingly for current and future years. With a plan in place for maintaining safe staffing numbers, facilities can help reduce patient cancellations that will cost more money and ensure enough nurses and health professionals are present to provide quality patient care.
Costs
Using a staffing solution like Medely can help facilities lower costs on contingent labor and work with, not against, the ever-changing needs of the healthcare industry. Hiring more full-time staff can seem like a good long-term solution, but with the cost of recruitment, training, and onboarding, the costs can quickly add up. If a facility experiences fluctuations in the number of patients, a full-time nurse or health professional might not be beneficial because the demand might not be present all year. But with Medely, facilities can utilize contingent staffing when they need it during their busier seasons, and continue to rely on their full-time staff during their regular seasons, creating less financial strain year-round.
Coverage
The number of nurses and health professionals needed on a floor can change at a moment’s notice, and when facilities don’t have all their staffing resources in one place or are still using inefficient systems, it can make it more difficult to find staff quickly and efficiently. With Medely, finding the right coverage is easy with our on-demand, all-in-one platform. We relieve facilities of administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on their team and deliver exceptional patient care. With innovative features like reporting, planning, credentialing, and time tracking, Medely gives facilities everything they need in one simple solution to stay on top of workforce management.
Control
Taking the time to create a unified extended workforce strategy allows facilities to have greater control over their organization, leading to improved operational efficiency that can lead to higher revenue and greater patient satisfaction. Instead of acting reactively when callouts happen or patient numbers increase, facilities can proactively create a plan they can implement at a moment’s notice, eliminating stress and administrative burden.
Join Medely
Through Medely’s flexible workforce solution, facilities can optimize their extended workforce and focus on what they do best—caring for patients. Need nurses or health professionals in Indianapolis? Start your free profile today!
