How One Catholic Health System Retained 150 Exiting Nurses and Slashed Contract Labor Costs by 38%

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady is one of the largest health systems in the region, delivering care to almost half of Louisiana and Mississippi's largest metropolitan area in Jackson. The Catholic nonprofit organization serves all, especially those most in need, and is the lifeblood of the communities in which it operates.

 

As newly minted staffing director, Starks spent six weeks “peeling back the onion” identifying the underlying issues impacting clinical recruitment and retention and unsustainable labor costs. Each of the five markets within the health system managed their contract labor, and different departments within each market oversaw their contingent workers. There was no standardization or coordination of contract labor hiring practices. Each department used its staffing agencies, managed its contracts, oversaw compliance, and approved its bill rates. At one point, the organization was juggling more than 500 contract nurses, which resulted in exorbitant spending and countless administrative inefficiencies...