The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) impacted health care at every level, creating a staffing crisis, particularly among nurses. In response, the RUSH Temporary Employee Program (TEP) was developed from a nursing workforce think tank event. Implementation of this program allowed RUSH to pivot from using external staffing agencies and provide opportunities for increased employee earnings while recruiting more than 200 external applicants.
TEP, created in the summer of 2022, is comprised of an internal pool of highly trained registered nurses hired on short-term contracts who float across RUSH University Medical Center and RUSH Oak Park Hospital. TEP’s purpose is to stabilize staffing, curb premium labor expenses and increase staffing flexibility, while new, permanent employees are recruited and onboarded. By building this robust float pool, RUSH leaders aimed to decrease workload, thereby reducing the likelihood of burnout, and improving employee satisfaction, while simultaneously improving patient flow and transfer acceptance to allow for safe patient care.
TEP implementation in June 2022 produced an immediate decline in external agency dollars. By August 2022, 99% of external agency contracts were discontinued. One of the key features that enabled the rapid and efficient implementation of the TEP was the clinical staffing office through which TEP employees were interviewed, hired, scheduled, deployed and managed.
Through the implementation of the TEP, RUSH continues to provide a model for innovative leadership through times of crisis, creating a resource that allows us to actively compete with external forces, raise the standard for short-term employees and target resources to areas with the most vacancies.
Savings resulting from TEP usage relative to external agency rates over 10 months (July 2022 through April 2023) was $2.6M. Fiscal year 2024 savings through October 2023 was $363K. Additionally, 24 TEP nurses were successfully recruited into permanent positions.
TEP incorporated several of the six recommendations from the think tank event, including work schedule flexibility, generous compensation, a focus on improving nurse well-being and increased recruitment and retention of nurses.