Executive Summary

A state-supported hospital had an ongoing need for experienced psychiatric nurses, a highly specialized and difficult-to-fill role. Complicating matters, state facilities require a 72-hour turnaround time from their request to candidate submission. Also, five months into the contract, the state agency added seven additional facilities to this contract. Malone developed a proactive approach that anticipated the demand for nurses and created a pool of pre-credentialed and qualified candidates ready to quickly provide nursing support services.

The Client

Psychiatric hospital serves as training site covering three states

A state supported psychiatric hospital, this client serves as a training site for healthcare professionals attending over twenty colleges and educational institutions in three states. This hospital provides on-site learning experiences for physicians, nurses, practical nurses, psychologists, counselors, healthcare administrators, technicians, and supportive services personnel.

The Challenge

Hospital struggles with urgent need for qualified nurses

The hospital requires ongoing staffing help to find Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RN), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA). Based on patient demographics, nurses need at least one year of experience in psychiatric nursing and certification in Non-Violent Crisis Prevention Intervention. To ensure adequate coverage to meet the hospital’s mandatory state and federal requirements, and to ensure continuity of care, nurses have to commit to a 13-week contract and be open to overtime.

Five months into the work, the state agency added seven additional facilities to the contract. These facilities were located in both rural and urban areas. Additionally, reflecting the urgency of filling these slots, state facilities require a 72-hour turnaround time from their request to the submission of a candidate’s full credentialing packet.

The Approach

Malone’s aggressive, ongoing recruiting effort fuels success

Upon award of the contract, the Malone recruiter began posting openings, connecting with established networking contacts, and collecting referrals from current employees. The Malone Account Manager, in conjunction with the credentialing specialist, began contacting nursing staff who met the facility’s qualifications and were either coming off an assignment or waiting for a new assignment. Those who were interested updated key information, such as current immunizations, and underwent a drug screening. Within 72 hours of award, Malone submitted RN, LPN, and CNA credentialing packets to the facility’s representative for review by their Director of Nursing.

When candidates were accepted, the Malone team worked closely with the facility’s representative to schedule the required orientation, provided the nurses a client-tailored employee handbook, and, if required, arranged temporary housing.

The Results

Anticipating demand results in pool of qualified candidates ready to work

Malone’s ability to identify a large number of qualified and pre-credentialed nurses enables the firm to meet this client’s 72-hour candidate submission requirements. When the existing contract expanded to include the seven additional facilities, Malone had pre-credentialed and qualified candidates ready to go. The Malone housing coordinator has built strong working relationships with local housing providers, ensuring the nurses have a clean, safe, and convenient place to stay. Quarterly on-site visits with the facility stakeholders and placed nurses allow Malone to assess and adjust the program if necessary. For example, Malone has added a specialist recruiter charged with increasing the pool of nurses available to work at the rural facilities.