In times of crisis, you find out what you’re truly made of. We’re proud to say our CoreMedical staff and healthcare partners are made of grit, tenacity, and compassion. As we propel ourselves toward a hopeful future, we want to take a brief look back at how our colleagues–both internal and external—supported the frontline of the pandemic. Their tireless efforts made an immeasurable impact on the trajectory of the health crisis in our nation.
This is not comprehensive; it would be impossible to share all of the ways our teams rallied together to meet urgent needs across the country. Rather, these are highlights to showcase the remarkable people we have the honor of working with each and every day.
We initiated an around-the-clock response to meet critical medical staffing needs.
Not too long after the first wave of COVID-19 hit New York City, our CoreMedical staff moved to a 7-days-a-week schedule. Our recruiting team stepped up in significant ways to get qualified candidates placed in record time. Overcoming licensing and credentialing obstacles (as many offices were closed or operating on alternate schedules), our recruiters and internal staff worked around the clock submitting candidates to healthcare facilities in the wee hours of the morning.
We knew the need was critical for our partners and their patients, and we had qualified nurses, physicians, and respiratory therapists wanting to help. With lives on the line, our unwavering team understood these connections could not wait until regular business hours as hospitals continued to hit critical staffing levels even toward the end of 2020.
In response to the staffing demands of the pandemic, we saw a 36% increase in placements between 2019 and 2020. And we sent qualified medical reinforcements to 47 states nationwide. We could not have accomplished this without the steadfast efforts of our CoreMedical team.
We ensured compensation for all our healthcare clinicians.
Our top priority during the pandemic was making sure that all of our on-the-ground healthcare professionals knew they had someone in their corner. In these uncertain times, we had travel nurses and locum tenens physicians quarantining due to viral exposure and physical therapists’ contracts being cancelled as outpatient services came to a halt. As an organization, we wanted to make sure our clinicians were taken care of financially to the best of our ability. Our healthcare employer partners joined us in supporting our on-the-ground teams, even during quarantine periods, and many embraced creative ways for our therapists to assist on the frontline as well. Because of this, we were able to keep many of our medical candidates employed across the healthcare spectrum.
We developed creative solutions for healthcare workers and employers.
It was tough for us to see our physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists getting canceled day-in and day-out for a few weeks. Patients were not getting therapy, especially in outpatient, and the clients didn't need their services. We had close to a third of our therapy clinical partners get canceled in the initial wave of COVID-19.
This challenge gave us an opportunity to develop creative solutions for our healthcare professionals and our partners. Our therapists stepped up by asking how they could help in the nursing space. Many clients responded that they needed CNA help and asked if our therapists would be interested in these roles. It was inspiring to see our therapist candidates provide care to patients and meet client needs in a way we had not considered in the past.
Today, the demand for physical therapists and respiratory therapists is at an all-time high due to the effects of the coronavirus and the resurgence of routine outpatient care.
We provided PPE for all medical placements.
The lack of PPE was another challenge we faced when COVID hit. But providing the appropriate gear to keep our clinicians as safe as possible was paramount. We worked with the state of New Hampshire to secure an ample supply of PPE for all of CoreMedical healthcare workers placed across the country.
We reinforced physical and mental health.
In order for our teams to be able to help others, we had to make sure we were also taking care of ourselves. During periods of insurmountable stress, self-care is crucial. CoreMedical’s human resources and recruiting teams continually checked in with our internal staff and clinicians in the field to get updates on their wellness and safety. We emphasized the medical and mental health services and telehealth options available to all staff and their families through our company’s benefits program should they need care themselves.
To the Helpers
Mister Rogers once said, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
To all of our clients, clinicians, and staff: You are the helpers. You stared down fear and the unknown and kept pushing on. You shed tears of empathy and compassion with your patients and your coworkers. You demonstrated remarkable strength and bravery in the most uncertain times. From small acts to grand feats, you made the difference in countless lives. You are what makes CoreMedical stand out. You are what sets us apart. Thank you is not enough to express our appreciation. But we do thank you —for everything.
