A major challenge facing hospitals in hard hit areas of the country is planning for urgent and critical staffing needs due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in their communities. Fastaff Travel Nursing, a healthcare staffing firm based in Denver that specializes in rapid emergency deployment, is helping hospitals cope with this challenge by rapidly deploying highly experienced critical care travel nurses who can arrive ready to care for patients within days.
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Many hospitals are struggling as the impact of the rapidly spreading coronavirus takes a major toll on the staffing of critical care units such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Emergency Room (ER), and Pediatric units. The threat of a patient or hospital staff member becoming infected and needing to be quarantined, or simply a spike in admissions can result in hospitals enduring crippling shortages while trying to maintain uninterrupted patient care.
Based on its experience handling prior public health emergencies including the Ebola epidemic and natural disasters, the Fastaff recruiting team can draw from a database of credentialed and approved nurses who are ready to respond in a moment’s notice. Since February, Fastaff has been rapidly deploying specialized nurses to help hospitals in hard hit states like California and Washington, including a California-based hospital system that had to quarantine dozens of nurses who were at risk for potential exposure. Drawing on a deep database of experienced high-acuity nurses, Fastaff was able to deploy nurses in less than 48 hours to help the hospital maintain appropriate nurse/patient ratios and full productivity in the critical care unit.
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In Washington state, the epicenter of the outbreak in the US., a large urban facility proactively reached out to Fastaff to fortify their nurse shortage and prepare for likely disruption. When the first patient cases were identified, Fastaff sent dozens of critical care ER, ICU and Labor & Delivery nurses to the hospital.
With extensive experience managing staffing needs during public health emergencies and natural disasters, Fastaff remains in constant collaboration with its clients year-round to help them plan for the unexpected. The ability to deliver experienced nurses in days, not weeks, makes Fastaff a critical partner in the most urgent and crucial situations.
“Every hospital situation is a little bit different,” said Fastaff Senior Vice President of Client Services Kathy Kohnke. “Hospitals constantly face rising and falling patient census due to unplanned disruption, and being strategic planning partners with them throughout the year ensures the best success for their continued quality patient care. Applying best practices from our other clients helps educate hospitals on how to prepare.”
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