EMR Conversion: Upcoming Opportunities In North Carolina
Two hospitals in the UNC Health Care system in North Carolina will swap from Meditech to Epic during an EMR conversion in the fall. The go-live dates for Epic at Wayne UNC Health Care in Goldsboro and Nash Health Care in Rocky Mount is September 22. The facilities are the latest in the hospital system’s efforts to convert all their facilities to Epic since 2014. The hospitals are anticipating needs in at least these specialties; MedSurg/Telemetry, ICU, ER, and OR. Travel nurses looking to apply are expected to have both Meditech and Epic experience, at least 2 years of experience in their specialty, and some previous travel assignment experience. Additional EMR Conversion needs The Covenant Health System, based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, is finishing up its Q3 rollouts at these facilities: Fort Sanders Medical Center is a 352-bed hospital located in Knoxville near the University of Tennessee campus. LeConte Medical Center is in Sevierville, Tennessee, 30 miles southeast of Knoxville. It’s a 111-bed facility. Two hospitals in the system haven’t been assigned a phase–Claiborne County Hospital and Morristown-Hamblen Hospital. Claiborne County Hospital is in Tazewell, Tennessee, 50 miles north of Knoxville. It has 129 beds. Morristown-Hamblen Hospital is a 128-bed facility located 50 miles northeast of Knoxville in Morristown, Tennessee.
Judge orders Maine governor to move on Medicaid expansion
Want to know how this will affect traveling healthcare professionals? Click here to read our take on the issue. After months of uncertainty following Maine’s passage of a voter-approved Medicaid expansion effort last year, a state judge on Monday ordered Gov. Paul LePage’s administration to officially move forward with expansion plans. In her ruling, Justice Michaela Murphy of Maine Superior Court ordered the administration to submit a state plan amendment that would update the terms of its Medicaid program and submit it to the federal government by June 11. The ruling cited the “complete failure to act” by Maine Department of Health and Human Services to establish a file a plan to expand Medicaid by the original April 3 deadline. Maine was the first state to expand Medicaid through referendum, and if Gov. LePage’s administration complies by next week, more than 70,000 eligible residents will be able to enroll for healthcare coverage by July 2. It would also trigger a federal cash flow of more than $500 million in federal funds to help the state cover healthcare costs of those with yearly incomes more than 138 percent of the poverty level, which is $16,642 for an individual or $24,600 for a family of four. A spokesperson for Gov. LePage’s administration told Politico that they are reviewing the decision and declined to say if they would appeal the ruling. The court order is a big win for Maine Equal Justice Partners, a progressive group that filed a lawsuit in April to force LePage’s administration to move forward on expansion after DHHS missed the deadline, according to a report in the Bangor Daily News. Gov. LePage has staunchly disapproved of Medicaid expansion efforts, vetoing similar measures multiple times in his two terms of office saying it will burden taxpayers and the state budget. His administration laid blame on the state legislature, arguing that they have not found adequate funding to implement the ballot measure. “Now that Medicaid Expansion is the law, it is my responsibility to implement it, and I will. But until they adequately fund it, there is nothing we can do,” Gov. LePage said in a press release. “Before we can proceed with expansion, DHHS needs both the staff to implement it and the money to pay the bills that will come due when the state plan amendment is approved.” The full cost of implementing the expansion is a disputed figure between Gov. LePage’s administration, which estimates as much as $100 million a year, and the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal and Program Review, which estimated a need of $45 million in state funds. How This Affects Travelers Similar to last week’s announcement that Virginia’s lawmakers successfully passed Medicaid expansion after a five-year battle, the new stream of funding for Maine hospitals could provide a boon to travel employment opportunities in the state. Newly insured patients who may not have had access to healthcare services will flock to hospitals, which could cause a spike in temporary staffing needs. The major difference with Maine, however, is that Maine’s enrollment will begin this summer if the court’s ruling stands, whereas Virginia won’t see an influx in new Medicaid patients until next year. We’ll keep tracking this story as it develops, but keep an eye out in Maine after mid-July and in August for a potential spike in job leads.
Still Looking For A Summer Travel Job Now? Stay Flexible, Industry Experts Say
With Memorial Day weekend behind us, summer is unofficially here, and some travel RNs who’ve banked their earnings are looking forward to fun in the sun. For others, their next step is getting ready to start their new contracts in early June. But what about the not-so-early birds; the travel nurses who, for various reasons, haven’t locked in a new assignment but still want to work during the summer? They aren’t alone—but that’s not a good thing for those hoping to land a dream summer job. New travel nursing job opportunities haven’t dried up completely, but market demand is stabilizing, meaning hospitals are posting new positions with less frequency compared to the first half of 2018, according to market data gathered by HCT Today. The slow trickle of new jobs has travel agencies fighting tooth-and-nail to get their nurses into hospitals, which, in turn, has caused a surge in the number of viable candidates hospitals can choose from. “We have some clients that will no longer take a (candidate) submittal with a single day off on it,” said Jennifer Pomietlo, a director of client advisory at LiquidAgents Healthcare. “Why? Because they are getting more than 40 candidate profiles for every job.” Travel nurses have several ways they can stay competitive during this high-volume period, according to feedback from staffing agency recruiters and sales staff. Keep preferences flexible and profiles sharp Two months ago, getting a recruiter to negotiate with a hospital for more approved time off or shorter contract length might have been an easier task. Now, nurses have to get in line with dozens of other candidates, some of which have no scheduling conflicts or contract stipulations. “Hospitals are also looking for more specific years of experience based on specialty,” Pomietlo said. “Instead of a nurse saying they have six years of RN experience, hospitals want to know if they have two or more recent years of experience in ER if that’s what they are being submitted for.” Nurses should work with their recruiter and agency to put their best foot forward–in other words, that means avoiding compliance delays, providing a clean resume with the right information, and prepping for the interview. Don’t wait when you see an opportunity If you find a job board posting that looks promising, contact your recruiter immediately and let them know you are interested, especially if the job was posted within the last 24 hours. You may have the best resume in the world, but you also might as well be invisible to hospital staff if your profile is behind more than 30 other nurses who managed to submit their information first. This may not apply to all specialties, but for more common specialties like medical surgical/telemetry, speed is important. If possible, try somewhere new Everyone wants to find a fun vacation state to work in this summer, but waiting for the perfect high-paying Florida contract may not be your best bet if you need a job now. Instead, look for states where travelers aren’t applying and see what opportunities are available. Your chances to find high paying jobs can be much higher in less popular summer travel states like Nevada or Arizona. If you’re having trouble finding good jobs in these states, talk with your recruiter. An experienced recruiter can help you track down a great opportunity that you may have missed.
Travel Nurse Jobs: Top 10 States in Spring 2018, Summer Market Predictions
There’s been a big shakeup in state rankings for where travelers are applying for jobs, according to Staff DNA job board data. Most of the movement is a result of the annual summer “migration”, where travelers who came south from their home states for warmer weather are heading back north, but there are a few surprises among the ranks. The main takeaway is the expected March spike in job applications wasn’t as high as we thought, although there was a gradual increase in the volume of applications in March and April. Part of the slower increase can potentially be attributed to the record-breaking flu season we experienced this year, which caused a large push for swamped healthcare facilities to offer contract extensions earlier. More extensions mean a delay in job applications, so we could see an increase in job applications by the end of this month, but we expect that number of submissions will plateau going into June as travelers lock down their mid-year, vacation contracts. “We’re not seeing additional needs at facilities, but instead it’s a transferring of needs,” said Oren Lavi, a director of client advisory at LiquidAgents Healthcare. “The net number of new nurses entering the market is not as high, but the job demand is still there as hospitals look to fill backfill positions and curb seasonal turnover.” Let’s take a closer look at changes to our state rankings. Ohio, Illinois, Arizona and Michigan crack the Top 10 Four states that typically hang around the middle of the pack in job applications quickly climbed the ranks this spring. The most dramatic jump was Ohio, which moved up seven spots, almost replacing New York in the top 5 most applied for states. Nevada makes the highest jump; Virginia falls from the top Nevada moved from No. 32 to No. 19 in the rankings, showing the most dramatic increase in job applications. Part of the state’s popularity could be attributed to recent job offerings out of Reno. Facilities in the city are offering noticeably high pay packages for both medical/surgical and telemetry contracts, according to StaffDNA listings. Meanwhile, Virginia has moved from its lofty spot at No. 7 down to No. 24, dropping 17 spots to the middle of the pack. It’s not unexpected to see this change as travelers move back north, but we expect some of that demand to return as Virginia is among the top five hottest travel destinations for summer 2018. Other popular summer vacation states like Hawaii and Colorado should also move up the ranks. May’s Top Markets Texas California Florida North Carolina New York Ohio Georgia Michigan Arizona Illinois South Carolina New Jersey Tennessee Missouri Philadelphia Alabama Colorado Mississippi Nevada Indiana Arkansas Kentucky Oregon Virginia Washington Hawaii Louisiana Oklahoma West Virginia Iowa Utah Connecticut District of Columbia Maryland Maine Montana New Hampshire New Mexico Wisconsin Delaware Kansas Minnesota South Dakota Massachusetts North Dakota Rhode Island Wyoming Idaho Nebraska Vermont Alaska Editor’s note: This list is created by analyzing the number of travel nurses applying for jobs in these individual states and Washington D.C. Is not necessarily an indicator of traveler interest in these states or of job volume. Application data comes from the StaffDNA jobs database.
Travel Nurse Market: High facility turnover expected as heavy flu season winds down
This year’s brutal flu season in the U.S. has lost its edge in recent weeks, according to the most recent Center for Disease Control data, but not without leaving a heavy impact on patients and facilities during the peak mid-winter months. An estimated 160 children died from the flu between fall 2017 and spring 2018, marking the deadliest flu season since 2012-2013 with 171 deaths, according to CDC data. That number is expected to rise once the data is finalized, according to a report on USA Today. <a href=’#’><img alt=’Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza HospitalizationsPreliminary cumulative rates as of 04-21-2018 * ** ‘ src=’https://public.tableau.com/static/images/CD/CDCFluData2017-2018/Sheet1/1_rss.png’ style=’border: none’ /></a> The season also saw cumulative hospitalizations across all age ranges of 105 out of every 100,000 people as a result of the virus. People age 65 and older were affected the most, with 454 hospitalizations out of 100,000 people at the peak of the season in mid-April. Facilities were swamped trying to meet patient care needs around the country, meaning travelers who locked down their contracts at the start of the year were offered extensions much earlier than expected, LiquidAgents Healthcare director of client advisory Oren Lavi said. “There was a major push for extensions early this year,” Lavi said. “On a typical 13-week contract, hospitals will wait 30 days or longer to offer extensions to travelers, but we were getting extension offers within two weeks of them starting at a facility.” During the seasonal transition in the next few weeks, travelers who impressed their facilities could potentially see additional extension offers as hospitals plan their summer staffing needs, Lavi said. The number of back-fill opportunities should also increase as hospital evaluate their staffing needs after the difficult flu season, Lavi said. “This is the time when hospitals will cut staff that didn’t perform as well as they hoped, but they still had to hire to meet patient care demands at the facility,” Lavi said. “Once those positions are cut, hospitals will have to back-fill to keep things running smoothly.”
Travel Nursing Jobs: Midwest States To Consider
Part of the appeal of a travel nurse career is the adventure–the opportunity to discover places you’ve never been before. But those places aren’t just on the coast or in the mountains. There are literally travel nursing jobs everywhere, and America is a big place. We want to take a look at some of those markets that you may have missed in your last job search. We start in the Midwest. Illinois travel nursing jobs Where are the jobs: All over, and more are being added every day. What specialties are these hospitals looking for: Any and all, the jobs are plentiful How quick are the hospitals hiring: Almost immediately. Most interviews are being done the same day resumes are submitted. How easy is it to get a state license: This is where it can get tricky in Illinois. It takes between four and six weeks for a state license to be issued, so accepting your first Illinois assignment takes a bit of preparation. Where many get hung up is submitting an incomplete file. When the state receives an incomplete file, it uses the U.S Postal Service to notify the nurse and requests missing documents be sent back to the state in the same way. That creates a nearly two week delay. Then once the state receives the documents, the four- to six-week clock starts over. So, if you aren’t careful, getting an Illinois nursing license can become a months long process. One way around this, if you’re applying from a neighboring state, is to go to either Chicago or Springfield to the state nursing board’s offices with your full file and ask for a review before you submit your application for a license. It will still take up to six weeks to get the license, but you avoid those delays caused by missing documents. Indiana travel nursing jobs Where in the state are the jobs: Obviously, there are jobs in Indianapolis, but there are also several opportunities in Fort Wayne and Evansville. What specialties are these hospitals looking for: Right now there seems to be a growing number of Med Surg/TELE positions as well as ICU How quick are the hospitals to hire: The answer here obviously depends on the facility, but some hospitals are interviewing the same day candidates are submitted. How easy is it to get a state license: Indiana is not a member of the Enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact, so before accepting a placement there you’ll need a temporary license. Indiana isn’t a walk-through state either, so make sure you leave two to four weeks for the state to issue your license once it’s received all of the required documentation. The license is valid for 90 days. Here are the documents you’ll need to provide: Completed application — notarization is required for a temporary license A 2 ½ X 3 ½ Photo signed on front Proof of current active license Verification of original state license Verification of ALL licenses held, current or expired Completed fingerprint card, not complete prior to sending in the application Missouri travel nursing jobs Where are the jobs: Sedalia, Springfield, St. Louis and surrounding cities What specialties are these hospitals looking for: Med Surg & TELE RN’s are the biggest needs at this time. How quick are the hospitals to hire: Interview typically happen within 48 hours How easy is it to get a state license: Missouri is a compact state, so if you already have a multistate license then you are cleared to work. If you don’t have a multistate license, Missouri is a walk-through state. Go to the board of nursing in Jefferson City and you can leave with an active Missouri temporary license. When you go, you’ll need a completed application, a copy of your current active state license, and proof of your fingerprint registration.
Travel Nurse Jobs: Where Nurses Applied In February
Digging into the application numbers from travel nurse jobs posted to the StaffDNA job board in February, we saw things that we expected to see as well as a couple of surprises. First, let’s look at what was expected. The overall number of applications was down by roughly 30 percent over January. However, most travel nurses start looking for new placements in January, so the volume to start the year is always high. Look for another spike in March when nurses will be coming off of their first-of-the-year contracts. Now, for a few of the surprises from the February list: Movement inside the Top 10 The top states on the list remained mostly unchanged. Florida, California, Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina remained the top five states for travel nurse applications. In fact, the only new entry into the Top 10 was Illinois, jumping up four spots to No. 8 for February. That means one state had to bounce out of the Top 10, and this month that was Michigan, falling all the way to 17. The eNLC Effect Two of the new eNLC states – Wyoming and West Virginia – made significant jumps in February. West Virginia moved all the way up to the 13th most-applied-to state for February. In January, West Virginia was solidly in the middle of our list at No. 24. Wyoming moved up eight places, from 45 to 37. Top 3 Movers While the top spots on our list are often some order of the same 10 states, there is often significant movement a bit lower. Here are the three locations that made big jumps in February. Not coincidentally, all three of these locations should be beautiful once the weather starts warming up for spring. Maine bounced up nine spots to land at No. 30 on the list for February. Vermont also jumped nine spots, moving from nearly the bottom of our list in January, all the way up to 39 in February. Not a state, but Washington D.C climbed 10 spots to No. 36. February’s Top Markets This list is created by analyzing the number of travel nurses applying for jobs in these individual states and Washington D.C. Is not necessarily an indicator of traveler interest in these states and is not necessarily and indicator of job volume. Application data comes from the StaffDNA jobs database. Florida California Texas Tennessee North Carolina Georgia South Carolina Illinois Virginia New York Alabama Ohio West Virginia Arizona Indiana Nevada Michigan New Jersey Pennsylvania Louisiana Missouri Oklahoma Oregon Arkansas Colorado Iowa Kentucky Washington Maryland Maine Minnesota Mississippi Wisconsin Hawaii Massachusetts Washington D.C. Wyoming South Dakota Vermont Connecticut Idaho Utah Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Mexico Alaska North Dakota Kansas Delaware Rhode Island Looking for your next adventure? Explore opportunities at the StaffDNA Jobs Board.
Market Data – Top States for January 2018
This list is created by analyzing the number of travel nurses applying for jobs in these individual states and Washington D.C. It is an indicator of traveler interest in these states and is not necessarily and indicator of job volume. Application data comes from the StaffDNA jobs database. Florida California Texas North Carolina Tennessee South Carolina Georgia New York Virginia Michigan Ohio Illinois Oregon Pennsylvania Alabama Arizona New Jersey Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Indiana Arkansas Nevada West Virginia Kentucky Oklahoma Colorado Washington Wisconsin Hawaii New Mexico Connecticut Massachusetts Maryland Kansas Minnesota Utah Idaho Maine Rhode Island Alaska Iowa New Hampshire South Dakota Wyoming Washington D.C North Dakota Vermont Delaware Montana Nebraska
EMR Conversions: Ongoing Jobs Near Knoxville, Tennessee
The Covenant Health System, with hospitals located primarily in and around the Knoxville, Tennessee area, is completing an EMR conversion over the first three quarters of 2018, and it needs travel nurses to help with the transition. The system is switching from McKesson EMR to Cerner EMR and will need help with at least four specialties: Med/Surg, Telemetry, ICU, and ER. There is a potential for other needs. Covenant System hiring officials say they’re looking for candidates with recent McKesson experience. While Cerner experience would be nice, it’s not a requirement. Covenant will provide training on the Cerner system for nurses that it chooses to extend. Candidates should also be open to the idea of floating between other facilities within 50 miles of their home hospital while on assignment. Floating will not occur mid-shift, and nurses will be given notice of the need to float at least two hours prior to the start of a shift. Two and three hospitals will be converting each quarter, starting with Methodist Medical Center, Roane Medical Center, and Rhea Medical Center in the first quarter. Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is a 301-bed facility 25 miles east of Knoxville. Roane Medical Center is in Harriman, Tennessee, 42 miles west of Knoxville. It’s a 52 bed short-term acute care facility. Rhea Medical Center is a 25 bed critical access facility located in Dayton, Tennessee, 80 miles southwest of Knoxville. Hospitals included in the second phase of the conversion, happening in the second quarter of the year, are Parkwest Medical Center, Fort Loudon Medical Center, and Cumberland Medical Center. Parkwest Medical Center is a 400-bed facility in southwest Knoxville. Fort Loudon Medical Center is 30 miles south and west of Knoxville in Lenoir City, Tennessee. It’s a 30-bed, short-term acute care facility. Cumberland Medical Center has 73 beds and is located 70 miles west of Knoxville in Crossville, Tennessee. Two hospitals will convert in the third phase, occurring in the third quarter of 2018: Fort Sanders Medical Center and LeConte Medical Center. Fort Sanders Medical Center is a 352-bed hospital located in Knoxville near the University of Tennessee campus. LeConte Medical Center is in Sevierville, Tennessee, 30 miles southeast of Knoxville. It’s a 111-bed facility. Two hospitals in the system haven’t been assigned a phase–Claiborne County Hospital and Morristown-Hamblen Hospital. Claiborne County Hospital is in Tazewell, Tennessee, 50 miles north of Knoxville. It has 129 beds. Morristown-Hamblen Hospital is a 128-bed facility located 50 miles northeast of Knoxville in Morristown, Tennessee.
Travel Nurse Market: Texas Jobs are Returning
If you’re looking for a travel nurse market that seems to be emerging quickly from the hiring slowdown that affected most of 2017, consider Texas. Like hospitals in many other states, facilities in Texas slowed their hiring in the spring of 2017 thanks to uncertainty around the future of the Affordable Care Act. Combine that with an abundance of applicants for fewer positions, and suddenly the Texas market was glutted with nurses but few jobs. Eventually, with the lack of jobs that glut of nurses eased. Now, recruiters say, with the ACA uncertainty behind us and hospitals hiring again, there are opportunities in Texas and fewer nurses applying for them. So for someone looking to get hired quickly, Texas is a location to consider. Positions available across the state These jobs aren’t relegated to just one region of the state. The flu is forcing some hospitals in Amarillo to pay crisis rates to get travelers into positions there. But hospitals in the eastern part of the state, in areas like Longview, are hiring. So are hospitals in central Texas near Austin and down near the coast and Houston. Hospitals are also looking for a broad range of specialties. Why Travel to Texas For the traveler motivated by adventure, Texas is unique. It’s a bit of everything in one state. It has a good mix of both rural and urban settings, often within easy driving distance of each other. So for the traveler who wants to explore the outdoors, with the Piney Woods in the East, Big Bend National Park in the West, and the Gulf Coast in the south, there’s no lack of adventure. But, with four major metropolitan areas, it can also provide the bright lights and cosmopolitan feel if that’s more of your style. And for the financially motivated, Texas has a cost of living that is regularly ranked in or near the top 10. That means those expenses not covered by stipends are going to cost you less.