Online answers for scheduling woes.(Worth reading)(scheduling nurses online)

Health Care Strategic Management, November, 2006

Some hospitals struggling to fill nursing shifts, such as Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen, TX, have found relief with the help of high-tech computer programs.

In 2004, Rio Grande was experiencing a 20% nurse vacancy rate and had to increasingly rely on agency staffing to fill gaps. Meanwhile, its agency staffing costs were up, and morale among staff nurses was down.

The hospital's nursing directors, including Carol Heckenkemper, RN, director of nursing operations, began looking for ways to cut agency spending. The hospital chose a shift-bidding program called StaffBid[TM], created by Austin, TX-based Decision Critical, Inc. StaffBid allows Rio Grande's staff nurses to bid on open shifts and receive the higher salary rate traditionally paid to...

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