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ShiftMed has expanded its Uber Health partnership to give more healthcare workers on its Flex workforce platform direct access to transportation opportunities.
WHY IT MATTERS
One in five workers in the U.S. works in healthcare, according to ShiftMed.
Health systems use the company's regulatory-compliant platform to fill scheduling gaps with local and part-time resources. The platform can also "help eliminate transportation as a barrier to work for millions of frontline healthcare professionals," Jacob Laufer, ShiftMed's chief operating officer, said in the company's announcement last week.
While ShiftMed connects its nurses with healthcare facilities that need additional staff, the nurses choose when and where they work and are offered Uber Health rides if transportation assistance is needed.
"Uber Health's embedded technology allows health systems to effectively expand their coverage footprint," Laufer added. "This increases the number of professionals a system has access to, creating a win for the worker and the health system."
Health systems using ShiftMed platforms have seen clinicians fill more than 50 shifts per year with the Uber Health integration.
In SSM Health's case, ShiftMed's no-cost transportation opportunities for nurses offered available shifts have helped stabilize its acute care unit coverage during peak demand, more than doubling coverage.
"Reliable transportation is often the hidden key to consistent coverage," Seth Lovell, SSM Health's system vice president of nursing transformation and innovation, said in a statement.
THE LARGER TREND
The staffing crisis in healthcare has led to legislative and other governmental efforts to try to balance nurse staffing ratios with access to care, as health systems have tapped scheduling technologies to entice nurses with greater flexibility.
"Healthcare providers continue to struggle with access to credentialed workers as patient needs and volume continue to rise," Todd Walrath, CEO of ShiftMed, said in a statement when the nurse staffing agency received investment funding to expand its offerings in 2023.
ON THE RECORD
"Through our expanded work with ShiftMed, we're providing on-demand access to transportation for their employees, who often make up the largest workforce in their counties," Valerie Holland, Uber Health head of U.S. sales, said in a statement.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
