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An Aya Healthcare spokesman said there were about 6,500 overseas recruitment requests in Texas, including 400 in Austin.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas hospitals are overstretched and help is urgently needed.
Aya Healthcare, a travel nursing office, said it has seen the most significant wave of requests for travel nurses and other medical personnel since the pandemic began, and Texas is leading the country in requests.
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“Hospitals call and say, okay, we need people now,” said Sophia Morris, vice president of account management at Aya Healthcare. “Either we have to turn patients away because we don’t have any staff to take them in. We are ready to run faster onboarding processes. We are ready to increase our prices to get the staff faster. “
Morris said Texas needed approximately 6,500 overseas employees.
In the Austin area, Aya has 400 vacancies and approximately 200 clinicians working to combat the surge.
A spokesman for Aya Healthcare said the travel nursing bureau has seen the largest increase in inquiries since the pandemic began.
She said Texas leads the country with over 6,500 openings.
The average wage rate in Tx is currently $ 4,000 to $ 5,000 per week and growing. @ KVUE
– Daranesha Herron (@daraneshav) August 13, 2021
“I would say that at this point in time more than half of our needs are in crisis,” said Morris.
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As demand increases, so does the salary.
“It’s really hard work, especially in these Covid units,” said Morris.
She said Texas wage rates rose back to $ 4,000 to $ 5,000 a week and the trend is rising. During the surge last year, she said prices were up to $ 10,000 a week, but this time the nurses aren’t stretching that thin.
“I think caregiver burnout helped and not seeing as many people want to work 60 hours a week, which makes perfect sense,” said Morris. “I think a lot of hospitals are becoming flexible and wanting nurses to work 48 hours a week.”
Morris said burnout, fewer hours, elective surgeries, and that surge in Covid created the perfect storm to shake the healthcare system.
Some local hospitals plan to prescribe vaccines for all employees later this year.
Ascension said they weren’t sure their rule will apply to state-appointed contractors, but Baylor spokesman Scott and White said their rule will apply to any state-owned contractor they get.
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