St. Charles reports workforce turnaround, hiring temporary traveling nurses as permanent caregivers

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In the past year, St. Charles Health System said Monday that it's seen a major turnaround in the strength of its workforce, according to a variety of metrics, and has hired over a dozen temporary traveling nurses as permanent caregivers so far this year.

Vacancy rates have decreased from near 20% to approximately 6-7% for acute nursing; in 11 of the past 12 months, the number of hires has been more than the number of caregivers leaving the system; and St. Charles has significantly decreased its reliance on high-cost temporary traveling nurses to fill needed positions, the hospital system said Monday in a news release, provided here in full.

In the first two month of 2024, St. Charles hired just 5 temporary traveling nurses, compared with 196 in January/February of 2022.

Additionally, many traveling nurses are opting to make St. Charles their permanent home by securing positions with the health system.

“These are highly skilled nurses who could find a home anywhere. They are choosing St. Charles – that speaks to our strong culture and competitive rates of pay,” said Rebecca Berry, Chief Human Resources Officer for St. Charles. 

Chris Collins, a Client Relations Manager for FocusOne, which provides traveling nurse staffing for hospitals across the country, says that the percentage of travelers converting to be permanent nurses at St. Charles is notable.

“With many of our clients typically experiencing conversion rates of less than 5%, St. Charles definitely stood out with their impressive 12% conversion rate in 2023," Collins said. "There are several likely factors that helped contribute to that success. Notably, St. Charles offers attractive pay packages and is situated in a location known for its picturesque scenery. However, it's the culture St. Charles has created that sets them apart and makes them attractive to those looking for a permanent position.” 

Michael Teeters spent more than six years as a traveling nurse before becoming a permanent staff member at St. Charles last month. He’s one of 14 traveling nurses to be hired as a permanent caregiver in 2024.

“St. Charles feels like home, like where I’m meant to be. The people that work here are incredible,” said Teeters.

A year ago, St. Charles – like hospitals across the nation – was experiencing a high vacancy rate, exacerbated by workforce shortages related to the pandemic and a nationwide shortage of nurses. To meet patient care needs, St. Charles brought in many expensive temporary nurses to cover key positions and ensure it had the right staffing levels to provide care for the community.

Today, St. Charles’ labor shortage is all but erased and the vacancy rate for acute care nurses is down to 6% (from a high of more than 20% in early 2023). One key factor in this turnaround is traveling nurses, like Teeters, opting to apply for permanent positions with St. Charles.

“These are highly skilled nurses who could find a home anywhere. They are choosing St. Charles – that speaks to our strong culture and competitive rates of pay,” said Rebecca Berry, Chief Human Resources Officer for St. Charles.

These so-called conversions (from traveling nurse to permanent caregiver) used to be extremely rare, but not anymore. In 2022, St. Charles hired four traveling nurses (commonly referred to as travelers in the medical community) into permanent positions. In 2023, that ballooned to 58 travelers into permanent positions and so far this year 18 travelers have already been hired into permanent spots. Converting travelers to permanent staff also cuts costs.

Berry says this trend, along with robust recruitment and retention efforts and other programs, has helped propel a significant turnaround in the health and stability of the St. Charles workforce.

“I am so proud of the work we have put into creating a culture where highly qualified clinical caregivers want to stay and make Central Oregon their home and St. Charles their long-term employer,” said Berry. “Our goal now is to maintain that success and build on it so we have a consistent workforce pipeline into the future.”

Chris Collins, a Client Relations Manager for FocusOne, which provides traveling nurse staffing for hospitals across the country, says that the percentage of travelers converting to be permanent nurses at St. Charles is notable.

“With many of our clients typically experiencing conversion rates of less than 5%, St. Charles definitely stood out with their impressive 12% conversion rate in 2023. There are several likely factors that helped contribute to that success. Notably, St. Charles offers attractive pay packages and is situated in a location known for its picturesque scenery. However, it's the culture St. Charles has created that sets them apart and makes them attractive to those looking for a permanent position. St. Charles prioritizes fostering a welcoming environment, which resonates with travelers, as evidenced by the glowing reviews they receive. Travelers rate St. Charles highest in the categories of Friendliness Towards Travelers, Orientation and Staff Support,” said Collins.

A reliance on traveling nurses is part of what led to St. Charles' financial struggles in 2022. St. Charles expects to hire some travelers every year, as part of a natural demand during busy summer months, but the day-to-day reliance has shifted. In January and February of 2024, St. Charles onboarded just five new travelers. During the same period in 2022 and 2023, St. Charles onboarded 196 and 56 travelers, respectively.

Ryan Huebscher, assistant nurse manager for the Bend Emergency Department, said that the transition away from reliance on travelers has been noticeable. As evidence – when the ER recently posted a new RN position, numerous travelers applied.

“That speaks dramatically to the culture we have,” said Huebscher. “Nurses like working here, they like the team environment and ultimately want to make it their home base. It makes me really proud that so many travelers want to transition to permanent staff and call St. Charles their home.”

Suzi Bean, nurse manager for the ER in Madras, said that there were times in 2022 when some night shifts, there was only one St. Charles caregiver – the rest were travelers.

“Our crew is so happy to have a team they can build on,” said Bean. “The purpose our caregivers bring to the work they do and the investment they want to make in their community is huge. You can tell they live here, they want their loved ones, their neighbors and their friends to have good care.”

For Teeters, the decision to become a permanent St. Charles caregiver feels like a great fit. “The flow, the morale, the core staff – everything feels really good right now. I enjoy coming to work and I feel appreciated here.”