Late Friday afternoon I received a call from one of my favorite clients, who I have known since I first started with BlueSky, and his company landed their first big travel contract. I love these types of calls because it means my customers are growing, but I also find it ironic because at the Healthcare Staffing Summit this past October we had the discussion that no matter how much you don’t want to deal with travel it’s a necessary evil if you want to grow. These conversations I have had with this client echo many other conversations I have with current and prospective clients. Travel healthcare staffing isn’t on a rebound – it has rebounded!

History Lesson of 2009

For those of you who are new to this industry and are wondering what travel healthcare staffing is rebounding from is quite simple. The travel healthcare industry took a 50% loss in revenue in 2009. This is a huge, devastating loss in any industry. The medical staffing agencies that were not diversified with Per Diem Staffing were closing their doors left and right. It was actually the same year I started with BlueSky and I was questioning myself if medical staffing software was a good career move, but I held on and so far it has been a pretty good ride.

What is driving the Recovery?

There are several reasons why travel staffing is on its way back, but in my opinion, there is one main driving factor - The Affordable Healthcare Act (AHA).

As many companies in different industries are complaining about the increased cost of health insurance, the AHA has really been doing wonders for healthcare staffing. The AHA is increasing demand for healthcare and when there is an increase in demand of a product then the cost goes up. 

As I was talking to this customer on Friday evening he made a great point: When you look at the need these hospitals have it is impossible to find all of these candidates in one city or state. You have to go elsewhere for these candidates. He nailed it on the head.  Again, demand is the main driving factor in the increase in travel healthcare staffing.

What Makes this Recovery Better?

In my opinion the travel healthcare industry has finally recovered from its 2009 downward spiral and is better than ever. Medical staffing agencies are being more cautious in how they add expenses to their agency. They are using technology to drive their business rather than adding another head. 

Many agencies who survived 2009 have learned their lesson from the previous burst and are dipping their toes in the water but not jumping in all the way.  They realize they will need to keep their per diem division alive and well as they grow the travel staffing business. Another interesting twist is that agencies also understand the value of the MSP model for a hospital but it also helps drives predictable revenue to a staffing agency which we will talk more about in a blog next week.

We want to hear more from you!

• Are you picking up travel healthcare staffing?
• What has your experiences been? 
• Did you survive the crash of 2009 and are apprehensive about travel staffing?