While the country hunkers down to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, front-line healthcare workers are being left out in the cold.
Many traveling nurses and other healthcare providers are struggling to find temporary housing, others are being evicted on short notice, and nervous hosts are cancelling AirBnB reservations. OPA Staffing is here to help! We’ve formed an innovative partnership with West Home to provide temporary and flexible housing for traveling medical professionals. West Home has an inventory in both the Atlanta and Nashville market.
Atlanta units are located in five strategic locations in and around the Atlanta hospital district and are designed to support temporary and traveling medical staffers by offering 1-6 month leases.
Currently there are more than a dozen two-bedroom/two-bath, seven one-bedroom, and 17 studio apartments available. All of them offer around-the-clock support staff, high-speed internet, luxury towels and linens, smart televisions, keyless entries, in-unit washers and dryers, fully stocked kitchens, and more.
“As a dialysis nurse, I am committed to providing excellent care and maintaining a schedule to ensure all patients receive their treatments in a timely manner. Being on dialysis, is equivalent to a part time job, and my patients depend on maintaining a routine. Dialysis easily takes 12+ hours out of their lives weekly. When staffing is short, patients have to wait to begin their treatments and miss out on other planned activities.
From a provider standpoint, I start my day at 4:30 a.m. Patients begin treatment as early as 5am, and the last appointment is at 6 p.m. Like the rest of us, healthcare providers occasionally get sick, and they need to be confident that their patients along with their teammates are being taken care of when they are unable to come to work.
Having a float pool to call when a teammate takes a leave of absence, maternity leave, and/or there is an unforeseen sickness would alleviate the stress that healthcare workers feel when these things arise. This would help current staff, who already works long hours on their feet, not to feel helpless when a teammate is unable to work. It would build the morale of teammates knowing that our management recognizes the work we are doing, and that there is no expectation to work when sick, work longer hours, or forgo breaks to keep up with the workload in a 12-14 hour shift.”
— Rachael Nuscher, BSN-RN
“Dialysis Clinics have regular clients that require time-sensitive, life-saving procedures. When these procedures are not conducted according to the prescribed schedule, patients frequently require hospitalization. We are putting credentialed teams together to float in and fill crucial medically-necessary positions. Having qualified healthcare workers available and ready to go supports our hospital systems, as well as Atlanta area chronic care facilities during the present COVID-19 pandemic.”
— Maggie Deason, MS, MBA, SLP, Director Medical Staffing at OPA Staffing
“This is our opportunity to support the community during this difficult time. OPA Staffing services are an important component of helping the medical communities on many different levels. The floater pools suggested by Rachael and Maggie help keep critical procedures on schedule and support patient outcomes and comfort. Furthermore, our supporting role will help ensure that clinic overflow does not unnecessarily burden hospitals during the current pandemic.”
— OPA Staffing CEO, Stephen E. Deason
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