Travel Healthcare Market: Openings, Competition High For Colorado Winter Jobs
A lot of healthcare travelers like to fly south for the winter, but there are still plenty who are looking for cold temperatures, snowy climates or a quick-start position with extension potential. For those reasons, Colorado has been a highly desired winter assignment destination in previous years, and 2018 is no exception. Agencies are seeing triple-digit needs for travel nurses and surgical techs across a wide variety of specializations, according to market data provided by Tailored Healthcare Staffing and LiquidAgents Healthcare. “Most of [the hospitals] are looking for nurses to start within a couple of weeks,” senior recruiting team lead Shelbie Summers at Tailored Healthcare Staffing said. “No pre-books for January starts as of yet.” Contact Shelbie Summers at Tailored Healthcare Staffing >> Geographically, most of the jobs are located in or within a one to two-hour drive distance from Denver, the state’s capital. This includes popular tourist cities like Boulder and Pueblo close to the Rocky Mountain range The most in-demand and higher paying specialties are for surgical positions which include OR, PACU and OR certified surgical techs, said Jamison Reitinger, a client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare. This falls in line with typical market trends, as more elective surgeries are scheduled near the end of the year in the U.S. Openings for more common specialties like medical-surgical, telemetry, ER and ICU are available, but pay is on the lower end for these positions, ranging from $1,200-1,300 weekly gross. PACU is significantly higher with bill rates at or near $90, which can translate to more than $2,000 weekly gross depending on the agency. Contact Jamison Reitinger at LiquidAgents Healthcare >> Competition is quite high for Colorado positions currently, with at least 15 to 20 submittals for core specialties (medical-surgical, telemetry, ER, OR and ICU) and 10 to 15 for less popular specialties, Reitinger said. Part of the competition is caused by nurses looking for a great winter vacation spot during the snowy season, Summers said. “There are a lot of nurses who enjoy traveling to Colorado this time of the year, so you may not see the same opening if you wait too long to submit for a position,” Summers said. Here are a few other things for travelers to consider before applying to work in The Centennial State. Colorado is part of the Nursing Licensure Compact Colorado joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact this year, so travel nurses with compact licenses can work in the state with no wait and no extra licensing fees. For non-compact license holders, you can still apply for a temporary single-state license, but be aware it can take 10-14 business days to process. For RNs—prepare for a (potential) Prophecy exam “Quite a few CO hospitals require that you take a Prophecy exam before being submitted to the position, so be prepared to pass your core Prophecy testing,” Summers said. For surgical techs—get your Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) certification Colorado is unique in that surgical technologists must get their DORA certification before submitting to any jobs, Reitinger said. This will involve a fingerprint background check with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. You can apply for a DORA certification by clicking here: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/dpo Expect good snowfall this year According to weather data from the NOAA, Colorado residents should expect to see above average precipitation totals and average temperatures, especially for those in the Southeast region of the state.
Multiple Hospitals Evacuate As California Wildfires Spread
Multiple hospitals evacuated patients this week as the Camp Fire continued to spread across California, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. More than 300 patients across three general acute care hospitals, three skilled nursing facilities and six intermediate care facilities have evacuated since Nov. 10. Some facilities, like Los Robos Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, have started repopulating their hospitals with evacuee patients, but most of the facilities remain non-operational, according to the Department of Public Health. The blaze forced Adventist Health Feather River Hospital to evacuate on Nov. 8, and damaged the lower level of the hospital, the chiller and utility area and most of the other outbuildings, according to the hospital’s website. Full damage from the fire is still being assessed, but in the meantime evacuated patients are staying at Enloe Hospital in Chico and Oroville Hospital in Oroville. A majority of Adventist Health’s staff have lost their homes, a representative for the hospital told Bloomberg News. The Camp Fire, which started on Thursday, Nov. 8 near Camp Creek Road in Butte County, has been recorded as the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The fire has killed 63 people and destroyed thousands of homes and commercial structures, according to the most recent Butte County Camp Fire Incident Update on Nov. 16 Camp Fire Incident Update 11.16.18 AM#CampFire #ButteCounty @ButteSheriff @CountyofButte @townofparadise @chicofd @chicopolice @CHP_Valley @CHP_Oroville @CHP_Chico #ButteCounty @CAL_FIRE pic.twitter.com/5DL7vSd6gZ — CAL FIRE Butte Unit/Butte County Fire Department (@CALFIRE_ButteCo) November 16, 2018 View the current status of active California wildfires on the map below:
Midterm Election Boosts Medicaid Expansion, But Challenges Remain
By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News Medicaid — which has been a political football between Washington and state capitols during the past decade — scored big in Tuesday’s election. Following the vote, nearly 500,000 uninsured adults in five states are poised to gain Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, advocates estimate. Three deep-red states passed ballot measures expanding their programs and two other states elected governors who have said they will accept expansion bills from their legislatures. Supporters were so excited by the victories they said they will start planning for more voter referendums in 2020. Medicaid proponents also were celebrating the Democrats’ takeover of the House, which would impede any Republican efforts to repeal the ACA and make major cuts to the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people. “Tuesday was huge for the Medicaid program,” said Katherine Howitt, associate director of policy at Community Catalyst, a Boston-based advocacy group. “The overall message is that the electorate does not see this as a Democrat or GOP issue but as an issue of basic fairness, access to care and pocketbook issue. Medicaid is working and is something Americans want to protect.” But health experts caution that GOP opposition won’t fade away. David Jones, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at Boston University, said ballot organizers now have a blueprint on how to expand Medicaid in states that have resisted. “I see this as a turning point in ACA politics,” he said. Still, he added‚ “it’s not inevitable.” Medicaid is the largest government health program, insuring at least 73 million low-income Americans. Half of them are children. To date, 32 states and the District of Columbia have expanded it under the ACA. Before that law, Medicaid was generally limited to children, sometimes their parents, pregnant women and people with disabilities. The ACA encouraged states to open the program to all Americans earning up to 138 percent of the poverty level ($16,753 for an individual in 2018). The federal government is paying the bulk of the cost: 94 percent this year, but gradually dropping to 90 percent in 2020. States pay the rest. GOP opposition has left about 4.2 million low-income Americans without coverage in various states. “It’s not over until it’s over is the story of Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act as the politics never ends and the opportunity for obstruction never ends,” said Jones. “But the trend overall has been to increasing implementation and increasing coverage.” Montana Fails To Endorse Funding Two years after President Donald Trump carried Idaho, Nebraska and Utah by double-digit margins with a message that included repeal of the ACA, voters in those states approved the ballot referendums Tuesday. Together, the states have about 300,000 uninsured adults who would be eligible for the program. In addition, Democrats secured the governor’s offices in Kansas and Maine, which will increase the likelihood those states pursue expansion. Legislatures in both states have previously voted to expand, only to have GOP governors block the bills. Maine voters also passed a referendum in 2017 endorsing expansion, but Republican Gov. Paul LePage again refused to accept it. Current and incoming Republican governors in Utah and Idaho said they wouldn’t block implementation of the effort if voters approved it. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday he would follow the will of the voters but would not support paying for it with a tax increase. It wasn’t a clean sweep, however, for Medicaid on Tuesday. In preliminary results, a ballot issue to fund Montana’s Medicaid expansion — which is already in place and slated to expire next July — was failing. Tobacco companies had mounted a campaign to stop the measure, which would have partially financed the expansion with taxes on tobacco products. The Montana legislature and the Democratic governor are expected to address the issue in the session that starts in January. No state has reversed its Medicaid expansion, even though GOP governors in Kansas and Arkansas have threatened to do so. Nearly 100,000 Montana residents have received Medicaid since its expansion, twice as many as expected. Nancy Ballance, the Republican chairwoman of the Montana House Appropriations Committee who opposed the bill that expanded Medicaid in 2015, said she is confident the state legislature will extend the program past July. But she expects the legislature to put some limits on the program, such as adding an asset test and work requirements. “There are some people in the state who may not have disabilities but need some help to access coverage,” she said. “I think we can pass something without people having a gap in coverage. … That will be a priority.” “It was never our intent to simply sunset the expansion and have it go away,” she said. Rather, the legislature put the sunset provision in to revisit the provision to make any changes. Chris Jacobs, a conservative health policy analyst in Washington, D.C., said the Montana results showed that when voters are given a choice of having to pay for Medicaid expansion through a new tax they were not willing to go along. But in Utah, voters did agree to fund their state plan by adding 0.15 percent to the state’s sales tax, just over a penny for a $10 purchase. Fernando Wilson, acting director of the Center for Health Policy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said the vote on the state’s ballot question indicated many people wanted to help 80,000 uninsured Nebraskans gain coverage. “I think it showed there was a clear need for it,” he said. The legislature likely won’t block the expansion, Wilson said, though it may try to add a conservative twist such as adding premiums or other steps. Sheila Burke, a lecturer in health policy at Harvard Kennedy School, said voters approved Medicaid expansion not just because it would help improve health coverage for their residents but to help stabilize their hospitals, particularly those in rural areas. Hospitals have said this step helps their bottom
Travel Jobs: Where Travelers Applied In Oct., Nov. Market Predictions
November can be a bit of an odd duck month for the travel healthcare job market. As the last month before the busiest season of the year in terms of patient census, many healthcare facilities are still trying to fill jobs needs with temporary staff. Many states still have job opportunities in the triple digits as of Nov. 13. At the same time, many travelers who were job hunting in September and October are either committed to jobs with November start dates or have pre-booked for late-December or early-January to have free time during the holidays. Travel healthcare jobs November 2018 Based on current job market data and information from staffing agency recruiters and sales representatives, we expect a slight increase in the volume of available job opportunities, but the amount of application activity should remain relatively flat. In other words, the amount travelers applying to jobs is already quite high—with dozens of submittals for competitive positions—and should stay high throughout most of the month. A good portion of the job market volume increase will come from northern and cold weather states, like Oregon, Michigan, Colorado and Wisconsin. Hospitals in these states will need to fill vacancies left by “snowbird” travelers heading south, said Jamison Reitinger, a client advisor for LiquidAgents Healthcare. “Bill rates are remaining consistently high in northern territories, except OR-RN rates, which are increasing across the board due to large OR nurse shortages in Wisconsin, Michigan and Colorado,” Reitinger said. There has also been a notable increase in travel nurse jobs available in the Southeast U.S., mostly in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. A large part of the increase is due to the recent surge in EMR conversion positions available in Kentucky and West Virginia through Appalachian Regional Healthcare. The healthcare system started advertising temporary staffing needs for their hospital in late October and will need travelers through the rest of the year and into 2019, so we expect these states to see more incoming applications from travelers in November. Depending on the severity of this year’s flu season, job market activity could also increase in Southern states like Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, as those states typically see high levels of flu activity earlier than others. No major changes in the Top 10 most applied-to states The most popular states for travelers—California, Florida and Texas—retained their top spots in October, and should continue to see high application numbers for the rest of the year. South Carolina was the only new state to enter the top 10, moving up from No. 12. Georgia fell out, dropping seven ranks to No. 12. Utah makes the largest jump, Connecticut drops the farthest Utah saw the biggest surge in traveler applications by far, moving up 18 positions to No. 33 on the list. Connecticut dropped 12 spots to No. 46 October’s Top Markets California Florida Texas Michigan Tennessee North Carolina Missouri Pennsylvania Arizona South Carolina Virginia Georgia Indiana Kentucky Oklahoma Arkansas Maine Iowa Idaho Wisconsin West Virginia New Mexico Nevada Oregon Colorado Hawaii Ohio Washington Massachusetts New Jersey Illinois Louisiana Utah Alaska Minnesota Alabama Montana Kansas Maryland Mississippi New Hampshire North Dakota Nebraska Rhode Island Wyoming Connecticut Washington, D.C. Delaware New York South Dakota Vermont Editor’s note: This list is created by analyzing the number of travelers 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 an indicator of job volume. Application data comes from the StaffDNA jobs database.
Nebraska Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion Ballot Initiative
Nebraska joined the likes of several other states who approved Medicaid expansion Tuesday, with more than 53 percent of the vote in favor with 90 percent of precincts reporting. As many as 90,000 newly eligible residents will gain coverage and the uninsured rate could fall from to 9.6% from 12.4% next year, according to an independent study by the Urban Institute. Along with the new Medicaid patients, the state will also see a cash flow of federal dollars—as much as $68 million annually—to help cover the program’s costs. The approval is a big win for advocates who have watched attempts to expand Medicaid fail six times in the state’s legislature. Advocates successfully petitioned and got the initiative added to the ballot in July. Voters also said yes despite heavy opposition from the Republican-controlled state representatives and Gov. Pete Ricketts, who saw it as a “government entitlement program.” Depending on when Nebraska’s Medicaid expansion program is officially implemented, the state could see a new wave of job opportunities in the travel healthcare market in 2019. Studies have shown that Medicaid expansion states have increased patient demands and healthier hospital budgets, which can lead to a higher volume of traveler needs. We will update this story with the final election totals when they are made available.
Question 1: Massachusetts Nurse-To-Patient Ratio Ballot Initiative Defeated
Massachusetts’ Question 1, a ballot initiative that would have established mandatory nurse-patient ratios in hospitals was defeated during the general election Tuesday. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, a union representing nurses in 51 acute care hospitals across the state, conceded defeat around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening. At approximately 10:20 p.m., the initiative had 969,400 votes against and 416,720 votes in favor, with more than 50 of precincts reporting, according to the preliminary results. “We are all disappointed by tonight’s results and the impact this will have on the patients we care for every day,” MNA President Donna Kelly-Williams said in prepared remarks. “We know that right now – as I speak to you here – there are nurses caring for too many patients and those patients are unnecessarily being put in harm’s way. And the problem continues to grow every year. The status quo is not a solution here.” The outcome was a victory for the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, who opposed the initiative for fear that it would dramatically increase state healthcare costs. The association represents 70 hospitals across the state. “This is the beginning of a conversation, not the end,” MHA President and CEO Steve Walsh said in a statement to Mass Live. “Question 1 forced some difficult and necessary discussions about the future of healthcare and the future of our workforce going forward. These conversations with our care teams and in our communities have been critically important and will continue in bargaining sessions, legislative debates, board rooms and newspapers.” An independent study conducted by the state’s Health Policy Commission found that implementing the mandate would cost an estimated $676-949 million per year and potentially save $34-47 million. The study also found that hospitals would need to hire 2,286 to 3,101 additional full-time equivalent nurses to meet the mandate.
Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas For Travel Nurses
The sickly sweet smell of candy corn, the itchy feeling of polyester costume fabric, the annual country-wide revival of “The Monster Mash”—yes, Halloween is here, nurses. But unlike the thousands of sexy-zombie-insane-asylum-Harley Quinn-nurse costumes you’ll see on Instagram, you don’t have the time to slather on heaps of special effects makeup. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy and work-appropriate costume ideas out there for travel nurses who want to dress up for the “graveyard” shift, or who just need to throw on something quick before an after-work Halloween party. For those planning to wear them at work, keep in mind these suggestions may be work appropriate, but not necessarily allowed. Make sure to ask around about your hospital’s costume policy. Travel Nurse Halloween Costume Ideas 1. Anyone in the Belcher family from Bob’s Burgers Bob’s Burgers is one of the funniest animated TV shows out there, and you can earn some easy laughs if you decide to dress as one of the Belcher squad. Throw on a pair of scrubs that match your chosen character’s colors, add a pair of glasses if you picked Tina or Linda, or bunny ears if you picked Louise, and you’re good to go. Just remember-If you dress up as Tina, be prepared to both razzle and dazzle. via GIPHY 2. Almost Everyone From Orange Is The New Black via GIPHY Have a pair of light brown scrubs? What about orange ones? Congratulations, you’re a new prisoner from the Litchfield Penitentiary for Halloween. Just make sure local law enforcement knows you’re not an escaped convict. 3. Bryce Dallas Howard From That One Episode Of Black Mirror No, we’re not talking about the neatly put-together character from early in the “Nosedive” episode of Netflix’s hit futuristic drama series “Black Mirror”, we’re talking about post-meltdown Bryce Dallas Howard, complete with dirt and ruined makeup. This costume earns bonus points because you actually have an excuse to show up at work with massive bed head. Wake up, throw on a pink dress or pink scrubs, roll around in the dirt for a few minutes and you can become everyone’s favorite dystopian meltdown queen. 4. The Addams Family (Because We Had To) via GIPHY Yes, we know—Addams Family costumes have been done to death. We still added them to the list because they are simple, effective and a great way to show off your love of the macabre on the spookiest of holidays. Some characters require more work than others—the family butler Lurch is probably the most difficult to pull off—which is why Wednesday is a fan favorite because the only things you need are a little makeup, black scrubs, pigtails and a healthy amount of sass. 5. Sabrina from “The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina” via GIPHY While you can never go wrong with an old-school, mid-to-late 90s Sabrina The Teenage Witch costume, our girl got a new look in this year’s much darker Netflix series “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. Like all the other costumes on this list, it’s fairly easy to accomplish with a red top, blue bottoms and a headband. Also, make sure you have your spells handy to summon Salem if you need a black cat companion. What are some of your favorite last-minute travel nurse Halloween costumes? Let us know in the comments below!
EMR Conversions: Appalachian Regional Kicks Off Meditech Upgrade In Kentucky, West Virgina
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Southeastern Kentucky, is in need of hundreds of travel nurses over the next several months for a system-wide electronic medical record (EMR) conversion, according to industry reports. View current West Virginia travel nursing EMR conversion jobs on the StaffDNA boards >> Currently, Meditech EMR conversion jobs are open at Beckley ARH in West Virginia and Middlesboro ARH in Kentucky, with more expected through the rest of 2018 and into 2019. As of Oct. 29, all major travel nurse specialties are needed, including medical-surgical, labor and delivery, ER, ICU and more. ARH operates 12 hospitals, 11 home health agencies and multiple clinics, pharmacies and home care stores, most of which are located in Southeastern Kentucky. The healthcare system plans to convert its smallest facilities first, working its way up to 358-bed Hazard ARH sometime in 2019. Travel nurses who apply can expect very quick interviews and offers for these EMR conversion jobs, Oren Lavi with LiquidAgents Healthcare said. View current Kentucky travel nursing EMR conversion jobs on the StaffDNA boards >> “Nurses will have more options to move and extend [on contracts] after these initial EMR assignments are complete, as they will be able to move to other facilities that are converting,” Lavi said. ARH is implementing a new EMR for the first time, upgrading from paper charting to an integrated Meditech charting system. ARH announced their selection of Meditech in 2017, according to an official press release. “We are excited to partner with Meditech in providing ARH an innovative Web EHR that fosters and supports sustainability,” Joe Grossman, ARH’s president and CEO said in a 2017 press release. “With the Web EHR, our clinicians will have seamless integration across the continuum, improved productivity, and the sophisticated tools to improve the quality and safety of care delivered to our communities.” What to know about working in Kentucky Kentucky is a favorable state for travelers looking to save money as the cost-of-living is low, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In a 2018 BEA report, Kentucky ranked as the 5th most affordable state in the U.S., thanks to some of the lowest apartment and home rental rates in the country. Nurses can also use a compact license to work in Kentucky. The state joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact this year, along with more than 20 other original NLC states.
Nurses at 2 Arizona hospitals vote to join national union
Nurses from St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital in Tuscon, Arizona voted Friday to unionize, joining the National Nurses Organizing Committee and National Nurses United, according to a press release. About 550 nurses at St. Joseph’s and 450 at St. Mary’s are now represented by Tenet Health division of the national union, swelling the group’s membership total to more than 6,000 registered nurses and 14 Tenet facilities across four states. Both hospitals are part of the Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, which is owned by Tenet Health Corporation based out of Dallas, Texas. In a 293-110 vote, 73 percent of the nurses at St. Joseph’s voted in favor of unionizing and 221-85, or 72 percent, voted in favor at St. Mary’s. Both votes were conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, according to the press release. “I am so excited that we will now be able to advocate much more effectively for our patients,” Lowella Choate, a neuro ICU nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital said in a press release. “I look forward to all that we can achieve by standing together with the 6000- RN-strong NNU Tenet Division at 14 Hospitals throughout the country.” As Arizona is a right-to-work state, nurses at the hospitals are not required to join the union as a condition of employment and they don’t have to pay union dues even if actions by the union benefit them. Carondelet Health Network officials told the Arizona Daily Star they would respect the nurses’ decisions and will work with them to reach a “mutually beneficial collective bargaining agreement.” Nurses at the hospitals will elect a team of colleagues to represent them in talks with hospital officials on a first collective bargaining contract, according to the NNU press release.
EMR Conversions: Meditech Travel Nurse Jobs Available In West Virginia
Beckley ARH Hospital, an acute-care facility located in Beckley, West Virginia, is looking to fill 35 travel nurse needs to help with an upcoming EMR conversion, according to a source with LiquidAgents Healthcare. The hospital is transitioning from paper charting to Meditech as part of an ongoing EMR conversion rollout to all Appalachian Region Healthcare facilities that started in 2017. Contact LiquidAgents Healthcare for more information about these EMR conversion travel nurse jobs in West Virginia >> Currently, 35 positions are available for primarily medical-surgical/telemetry travel nurses, but other specialties are available as well. Days, nights and variable shifts are all available at this time. Nurses with a compact license can now use it for West Virginia, as the state joined the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact this year. Travelers can still apply for a single-state license, but West Virginia is not a walk-through state so it could take 5-10 business days to process. What travelers should know about Beckley, WV Beckley is one of the largest cities in the state and is one hour south from Charleston, the state’s capital. The city also has one of the lowest cost-of-living ratings in the U.S., with average rents at 36 percent of the national average—or about $570 a month on average for a 1-bedroom apartment—so travelers can potentially save hundreds over the holidays on living expenses.