Healthcare Dive: Demand for Contract Labor is being Driven by Core Staff Vacancies
Vaya’s SVP for fulfillment and strategy, Melanie Bell, discussed how important it is to get more nurses into the talent pipeline and retain the ones we have.
The demand for traveling nurse staff have remained high despite a decrease in COVID-19 cases, according to data from nurse staffing companies. The ongoing demand for contract labor is driven by core staff vacancies, which have increased due to burnout and turnover. Permanent staff wages are also being increased to try and quell these ongoing shortages.
Despite the flu season and potential waves of COVID-19 variants, the demand for traveling nurse staff is expected to stay consistent this year. While hospital operators have tried to reduce their use of temporary staff, it is harder to predict where temp labor utilization and spend will baseline entering 2023.