In This Issue:
- AHA Wants FTC Noncompete Proposal Scrapped
- MPLT Promotes Liz Hale to CEO
- CHG Healthcare Promotes Three Execs
- Barton Associates Promotes Three Top Female Leaders
- Floyd Lee Locums Announces New Partnership, Vacation Sweepstakes Winners
- Four Locum Tenens Staffing Firms Named 2023 “Top Workplaces USA”
- Staff Shortages Could Spur Next Public Health Crisis, Baystate Health CEO Warns
- More Investment in Primary Care Needed, Report Finds
- Attend AAPPR’s National Conference in Austin, Texas
- Socially Speaking: Social posts of note from Alumni, LocumTenens.com, MPLT, & more.
AHA Wants FTC Noncompete Proposal Scrapped
(From Beckers CFO Report story, 2/22/2023)
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to withdraw its proposed rule to ban noncompete agreements (“noncompetes”), which prevent employees from leaving for a rival or starting a competing business for a period of time after their employment ends.
In an 18-page, footnoted, February 22 letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, AHA General Counsel, and Secretary Melinda Reid Hatton argued that even if Congress had granted the FTC such sweeping authority (which it has not), “a one-size-fits-all rule for all employees”–from highly educated, skilled and compensated physicians and senior executives to social workers and housekeeping or food service workers–is ill-advised.
The AHA general counsel said such a rule would hurt healthcare by invalidating millions of dollars of existing physician and senior hospital executive contracts and exacerbating workforce challenges, particularly in rural communities.
At the very least, any noncompete rule should exempt physicians and senior executives or—more generally—highly skilled, highly paid employees using well-established categories under federal law, AHA said.
All News Is Locums
MPLT Promotes Liz Hale to CEO
(From MPLT blog post, 2/8/2023)
MPLT Healthcare has promoted Liz Hale from president to chief executive officer. She succeeds company founder Jay Mays, who will chair MPLT Healthcare’s board.
Having previously held VP roles for three nationally recognized healthcare staffing firms, Hale brings some 28 years of experience to the lead role at MPLT.
Mays praised Hale’s passion for employee engagement and her help in “exponentially” growing MPLT’s revenue. ”She is truly the heart and soul of the company, and I could not ask for a better leader to take the reins as CEO,” Mays said.
In addition to her role at MPLT Healthcare, she serves as vice president of the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations (NALTO) and chair of the NALTO Credentialing Committee.
Hale will lead MPLT’s growth strategy in her new role while overseeing business development, sales operations, organizational development, internal talent acquisition, insurance, legal, and strategic relationship management programs.
CHG Healthcare Promotes Three Execs
(From CHG blog post, 2/8/2023)
CHG Healthcare has promoted three executives to new leadership positions, naming Lisa Grabl as group president, Brooke Bowers as president of CompHealth Locum Tenens (CHLT), and Kerry Norman as executive VP of operations.
These appointments reflect a growing trend of women leadership at CHG Healthcare, where women hold 44% of director-level and higher management roles.
“Lisa and Brooke have both been instrumental to CHG’s success for more than 20 years. They started on the front lines of the business and worked their way up one job and one team at a time to eventually lead our legacy division: CompHealth locum tenens,” CHG Healthcare CEO Scott Beck said. “Not only are they a proud example for other women in the company — they are both powerful examples of strong sales and cultural leadership, which is core to our growth strategy.”
At the same time, Kerry Norman is known for being “a talent developer, a sought-after coach, an advocate for our people, a champion of our DE&I initiatives,” according to her CHG Healthcare bio.
Grabl joined CompHealth in 2001 and has held multiple recruiting and leadership roles. Most recently, she served as president of CompHealth and led the division to record-breaking results in 2022.
Bowers, who joined CompHealth in 2002, has held numerous sales and leadership positions. Kerry Norman joined CHG in 2017 after 17 years at Capital Group, an investment management firm.
Lisa Grabl
Brooke Bowers
Kerry Norman
Barton Associates Promotes Three Top Female Leaders
(From PRNewswire news release, 2/17/2023)
Barton Associates announced the promotion of three agency leaders. Emily Marr and Vanessa Moriatry have been promoted to senior directors of sales & recruiting. Marr will oversee the Peabody, Mass, and Windsor, Conn. offices in a regional role, while Moriarty will continue leading the Worcester office. Both have been with the company for the past decade.
Mackenzie Murphy has been promoted to senior director of strategic accounts, where she will focus on building strong client relationships for Barton Associates and Barton Healthcare Staffing. Murphy has been with the company since 2017.
“We are thrilled to recognize the hard work and dedication of Emily, Vanessa, and Mackenize with these promotions,” Barton Associates EVP Lina Gallotto said. “Their contributions have been instrumental in driving our success, and we are confident they will continue to play a key role in our future growth.”
Emily Marr
Vanessa Moriatry
Mackenzie Murphy
Floyd Lee Locums Announces New Partnership, Vacation Sweepstakes Winners
(From Floyd Lee Locums blog post and news release, 2/7/2023)
Floyd Lee Locums has contracted Healthcare Plus Solutions Group (HPSG)—captained by former thought leaders of the Studer Group—to take the locums agency from “start-up” to “thought leader” in the locums marketplace.
In the last few years, Floyd Lee Locums has doubled its revenue multiple times year-over-year, bolstered its staff to more than 80 employees, and carved out an expanding position as a concierge locums staffer, despite industry challenges like the pandemic.
“For years, we have seen our company as a scrappy, nose-to-the-grindstone start-up that was forging its way in a crowded industry,” Floyd Lee Locums CEO Natasha Lee said. “That has paid off—and our growth has been tremendous. With that advancement now comes being recognized as a leader. There is no better partner to bring us through this next stage than Healthcare Plus Solutions Group.”
Co-founded by Quint Studer and Dan Collard, HPSG is known for providing creative solutions and an employee-first approach. Lee said HPSG will work with Floyd Lee Locums to bring scale to the company’s business expansion, formalize internal processes, and broaden its technology capabilities.
“When we look across healthcare, there are only a handful of real ‘changemakers’ acting as pacesetters for our industry,” Studer said. “Floyd Lee Locums demonstrates an unmatched commitment to its concierge philosophy and customers. Together we will capitalize on those successes; deliver elevated features and services needed by providers and clients; and create authentic, personalized experiences in healthcare.”
Already HPSG’s impact has been evident at Floyd Lee Locums.
The two companies have released a “Standard of Behavior” commitment, codifying the company’s cultural practices and vision for the future. Simultaneously the agency launched “nDorse,” a mobile- and web-based application meant to enable real-time recognition. These resources are interwoven throughout hiring and onboarding, training, and monthly employee recognition.
Bridging Floyd Lee Locum’s time as a start-up to their future as an entrenched locums thought leader, HPSG and the organization will officially launch its “Because It’s Personal” campaign. This initiative will detail and demonstrate Floyd Lee Locum’s commitment to its clinician and client population, expand its footprint in the healthcare marketplace, and formalize its concierge service at scale.
Related: Two Doctors Win Floyd Lee’s Vacation Sweepstakes
Floyd Lee recently revealed the first two recipients of the firm’s Luxury Vacation Sweepstakes.
The company created the sweepstakes to celebrate the physicians and clinicians who partner with Floyd Lee Locums.to fill temporary and urgent needs in healthcare facilities across the US. Each prize is valued at $6,000.
Dr. Chinemerem Ugorji was the inaugural winner and received the award in summer 2022. He will take a premium trip to Turk’s and Caicos in March 2023.
The second sweepstakes winner is Dr. Reginald Mason, a general surgeon working on a Native American reservation in Oklahoma. He has been recognized for his contributions to patient and community health.
Floyd Lee has announced that it will continue the sweepstakes throughout 2023.
The Healthcare Staffing Story
Four Locums Agencies Named 2023 “Top Workplaces USA”
(From Yahoo News, 2/1/2023)
Four locum tenens staffing agencies have been named 2023 “Top Workplaces USA” by the employee engagement experts at Energage. The award, which recognizes organizations with at least 150 employees that have built exceptional, people-centric workplace cultures, has been announced annually for the past 16 years.
This year Energage recognized more than 1,270 companies across four size categories with its national award. Among companies in the largest category (2,500+ employees), Aya Healthcare, with 5,358 employees, came in second out of 100 companies ranked.
Three healthcare staffing firms ranking in the top 100 for their company sizes spanned the remaining categories, as follows:
1,000-2,499 Employees
57. Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., Boca Raton, Fla. (1,259 employees)
500-999 Employees
62. LocumTenens.com, Alpharetta, Ga. (623 employees)
150-499 Employees
68. All Star Healthcare Solutions, Deerfield Beach, Fla. (174 employees)
Participating companies are evaluated on employee feedback captured by Energage’s confidential, research-based engagement survey, which is informed by responses from more than 27 million employees across 70,000 organizations.
See the complete list of 2023 top workplaces, including the top 100 in each size band.
Staff Shortages Could Spur Next Public Health Crisis
(From Beckers Hospital Review story, 2/20/2023)
Mark Keroack, MD, president and CEO of Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health, is warning that healthcare’s workplace shortages present a public health crisis. Dr. Keroack, who has helmed Baystate since 2014, argued in an opinion piece published on Feb. 19 on masslive.com.
“There is much being said in the media about the current healthcare workforce shortage, which I believe has the potential to be the next public health crisis,” he wrote.
Dr. Keroack cited a Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association survey that estimated 19,000 full-time job vacancies across Massachusetts acute care hospitals. Baystate Health itself has about 1,650 total open positions, more than double the organization’s pre-pandemic state.
“The driving forces for this shortage existed before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has only accelerated those conditions,” Dr. Keroack wrote. “Baystate Health identified concerns with shortages in key staff categories as early as 2016 and forecasted a worsening as a larger portion of its workforce aged into retirement and patient demand increased due to an aging population in Western Massachusetts.”
Those concerns are not specific to Baystate Health. Workforce problems in US hospitals are troublesome enough for the American College of Healthcare Executives to devote a new category to them in its annual survey on hospital CEOs’ concerns. In the latest survey, executives identified “workforce challenges” as the No. 1 concern for the second year in a row.
Healthcare executives have responded to these challenges in various ways, including compensation, perks beyond pay, upskilling their workforces, and providing more flexibility to staff through initiatives such as virtual nursing programs.
Baystate Health has also focused on strengthening pipelines for new trainees and new employees, Dr. Keroack wrote.
More Investment in Primary Care Needed, Report Finds
(From MedPage Today story, 2/22/2023)
The federal government is under-investing in primary care, the primary care workforce is shrinking, and access to care is declining, according to a report commissioned by the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Physicians Foundation and released February 22.
“Given declining life expectancy, racial and ethnic health disparities, the current epidemic of mental health needs, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and other nationwide issues that primary care can help address, these findings represent an urgent call to policymakers and other stakeholders,” wrote Yalda Jabbarpour, MD, and co-authors of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Robert Graham Center, which put together the report.
“It is time to accelerate adoption of policies that will demonstrably increase investment in high-quality primary care, create a robust primary care workforce, and enable analysis and learning around the impact of primary care.”
The report — which used a scorecard to evaluate primary care in the U.S. — elaborates on several points:
- Under-investment in primary care.
- A shrinking primary care workforce.
- 27% of adults lack a source of primary care.
- Too few physicians training in community settings.
- Too few funding opportunities for primary care research.
The authors hoped the report will serve as “a starting point both for policy advocacy and accountability measures to help ensure that the United States builds a strong foundation of primary care…”
Tools to Try/News to Use
Attend AAPPR’s National Conference in Austin, Texas
Join us for the 2023 AAPPR Annual Conference on March 22-24 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. This conference provides the opportunity for physician and provider recruitment professionals, physician liaisons, administrators, CEOs, CMOs, VPs, and others involved in healthcare recruitment, retention, and onboarding processes to come together and connect, network, learn, and strategize.
At the end of your time in Austin, you will walk away feeling renewed and equipped to handle the fast-paced and ever-changing healthcare trends!
Reminder, the room block deadline for all conference hotels is Monday, February 27, to secure a rate based on availability.
Discounted rates are available at the Westin Austin Downtown Hotel and Residence Inn Austin Downtown Hotel. Click the link below for details and reservations.
Session Highlights:
- “Physician Panel: Job Search Insights from the Candidate’s Perspective”
Eric Martin, PracticeLink - “Healthcare Providers – Mental Health Is as Important as Physical Health”
Collin McKahin, Marvin Behavioral Health - “The 4 Disciplines of Execution in Physician Recruitment”
Clint Rosser & Laura Kleffner, PractieMatch - “Create Enticing Opportunities for Physicians by Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”
Katherine Byrne, Grace Clinic of Lubbock - “Strategic Provider Development Planning”
Christy Ricks, Ardent Health, & Ron Flower, 3D Health
Socially Speaking
From LinkedIn
From Twitter
From Facebook
