After thorough research and planning, we’re excited to announce that Medely is entering the Nashville market! Medely’s commitment to providing facilities with a cost-effective option for finding contingent staff has allowed us to expand across the country to over 40+ per diem markets, and we’re thrilled to now be adding Nashville to that list.
Nashville Staffing Shortages
Nashville is home to almost 700,000 people and the neighboring metro cities bring the total population to around 2 million people. The city is a thriving healthcare hub, and according to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, is home to over 900 healthcare companies. Due to the vast number of companies located in the region, the healthcare industry is a major contributor to the Nashville economy and jobs in the area. The Nashville Chamber of Commerce shares that, “The healthcare industry is Nashville’s largest employer, contributing to 167,916 direct jobs annually.” And with such a large population, having strong healthcare systems is crucial to ensuring patients receive the best possible care.
But even with such a large number of healthcare jobs in Nashville, facilities are still experiencing shortages, which is leading to more nurse burnout and a smaller, strained workforce. According to a 2021 study by the Tennessee Hospital Association, “FTE [full-time employee] supply in 2021 was approximately 62,900 FTEs versus demand of 78,600. (Demand is defined as the number of FTEs required to provide the 2021 average national level of care). Study results show that in 2021, Tennessee needed about 15,700 more RNs to provide a national average level of care accounting for demographics, prevalence of disease and health risk factors, and socioeconomic factors within the state’s population. That is, Tennessee’s supply of RNs was sufficient to meet about 80% of demand.” When facilities are only able to meet about 80% of the demand, quality patient care is sacrificed and nurses end up overworked and overwhelmed, leading to burnout and more healthcare professionals choosing to leave the profession.
While the study shows that nurses were meeting about 80% of the demand in 2021, as Nashville and the surrounding area continue to expand, a lack of qualified nurses and health professionals can lead to a much more serious, harder-to-control crisis. With a growing population and an increasing number of patients, particularly elderly individuals, requiring more advanced care, it’s essential for facilities to proactively address the healthcare crisis before it becomes unmanageable.
Solving staffing challenges
Facilities have tried several solutions to address the staffing crisis. Healthcare agencies that provide the necessary staff on demand have historically been a popular option. Although, many facilities are seeing the demand for qualified nurses and health professionals has expanded past the occasional need for a one-off per diem nurse. Shortages have evolved to include a growing demand for more long-term coverage when nurses resign, experience burnout, or take a planned or unplanned medical leave. While facilities can still use agencies to fill shifts, there are a lot of hidden fees that pop up and it tends to be more expensive to fill shifts or longer-term needs. And with very little choice over who the agency sends, there’s no guarantee they’ll be the right fit.
Another option is to offer extra shifts to current staff. However, there’s already a delicate balance of maintaining the correct number of full-time staff members, so asking staff to take on more hours can lead to burnout. This eventually can lead to staff quitting or needing a long break, leaving facilities in an even more dire spot.
Hiring more full-time employees is another option. However, hiring full-time employees to fill gaps is costly and often unnecessary based on the ebbs and flows of healthcare. Facilities might be wasting money on a permanent solution when a temporary solution could solve the problem, which is where Medely comes in.
How Medely can help Nashville
Medely gives facilities the flexibility to request nurses and health professionals whenever they have a gap, whether that’s a last-minute callout or a planned leave. With Medely’s easy-to-use platform, facilities can simply request a nurse or health professional, we’ll connect them with one based on shift requirements, and the nurse or health professional will come to the facility and work the shift. All our professionals are pre-vetted and credentialed, meaning they’ve gone through our credentialing system as well as had a thorough interview with our team to ensure that they have the skills necessary to pick up shifts. Unlike agencies, Medely offers facilities the opportunity to interview potential candidates and review their credentials to ensure they’re up to the facility’s quality standards. With our Favorites Feature, facilities can favorite nurses and health professionals who did a good job and call them back first when a new shift need arises. Because of the ebbs and flows of healthcare, Medely provides the opportunity for facilities to fill open shifts based on need. If a floor is fully staffed, facilities don’t need to post shifts, but during busier seasons with more callouts or more patient demand, we can help pick up the slack.
With 28 active facilities in the Nashville area, and over 3,500 facilities nationwide, facilities trust Medely to provide them with credentialed nurses and health professionals that allow them to stay fully staffed and ready to take on any staff fluctuations. In Nashville, for our top five most-requested positions, PACU RNs, Pre-Op RNs, Circulating RNs, Surgical Techs, and MAs, we have over 2,000 active pros in the Nashville area available to pick up shifts at a moment’s notice.
Extended Workforce Management Solution
Medely’s Talent Marketplace includes over 300,000 healthcare professionals who have gone through the Medely screening process to ensure that they’re fit to work. If a facility doesn’t have an established internal float pool, this is a great option for finding nurses and health professionals to fill shifts.
In addition, Medely offers Talent Fusion, a total extended workforce solution, which allows facilities to manage their entire extended workforce in one place. When facilities post a shift, the shift will first circulate to their internal resource pool, meaning any internal staff gets priority to pick up extra shifts. If none of them pick up the shift, it will then go to our Talent Marketplace, which offers the shift to nurses and health professionals on the Medely platform. If the right fit isn’t found, the shift will go straight to the facility’s agencies through our VMS for a final opportunity for someone to pick it up. With a 90% all-time fill rate, facilities have found Medely to be the best solution for ensuring their needs get filled no matter what.
Get started with Medely
Medely is excited to be a part of ensuring Nashville healthcare facilities are fully staffed and able to provide the best care for their patients. Need nurses or health professionals in Nashville? Post a shift or assignment today!
