Allied launches Integrated Staffing division

REPOSTED FROM THE TIMES TRIBUNE - BY ROBERT TOMKAVAGE, STAFF WRITER

Allied Services is taking another step to attract nurses as a workforce crisis continues to grip the healthcare industry.

Integrated Staffing — a new division of Allied Services Integrated Health System that launched Monday — offers qualified nurses no-contract, temporary assignments at high pay rates, the company said.

Registered nurses may earn up to $70 per hour, licensed practical nurses may earn up to $50 per hour and certified nursing assistants may earn up to $30 per hour to work at Allied Services locations in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. For comparison, the average RN in Pennsylvania earns $36.54 an hour, the average LPN earns $24.56 an hour, and nursing assistants earn an average of $16.44 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Zach Shamberg, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, noted there was a workforce shortage in long-term care before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic which has only worsened.

"The last two years have really exacerbated and amplified the issue," he said. "We conducted a survey of our members a few months ago and found, on average, nearly 20% of our workforce left the front lines since the start of the pandemic."

Nurses must have at least one year of experience to qualify for the positions. The majority of shifts will be 8, 10, or 12 hours, but Maurya Incavido, talent manager for Allied's human resources department, stressed employees will be able to craft their schedule around other responsibilities.

"We're finding many nurses are choosing staffing work because they like the flexibility of scheduling their job around their life commitments," Incavido said. "They will also be able to make more money closer to home."

The new employees will be trained to work at various levels of care including inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, transitional rehabilitation units and skilled nursing centers.

"We need people to be cross trained," said Jim Brogna, vice president of strategic partnership development for Allied. "Now more than ever, the shift in referrals from one facility to the next is so fluid, so we needed the flexibility in staffing to address those needs."

Brogna added the Integrated Staffing division was formed to meet the needs of Allied Services and the community.

"In several of our long-term care facilities, it's been almost impossible for us to get above about 70% to 75% capacity because of the need for staffing," he said. "One of the challenges, post-pandemic, is a significant amount of people left the long-term care work environment for a different pay rate or another type of career."

Allied is also looking to fill support staff positions, including temporary nurse aides, drivers, safety sitters and screeners, which will pay up to $20 per hour. Shamberg stressed initiatives like Integrated Staffing are vital to ensure health care providers can find workers.

"Our providers are being forced to become more and more innovative just to bring caregivers to the front lines," he said. "They are doing anything they can to find staffing and ensure continuity of care for their residents." Shamberg described the current long-term care landscape throughout the state as a "full-blown crisis."

"Unfortunately, we're being forced to turn away vulnerable senior citizens in need of care simply because we don't have enough staff to care for them," he said. "There are wait lists for nursing homes which we've never experienced before in Pennsylvania and our members are telling us new admissions are traveling further distances for care."

Interested candidates can apply for positions through Integrated Staffing's website or by calling 570-341-4321.