by Randy Sparks, VP Sales, AMN Integrated Workforce Solutions
Just before the holidays, administrators at a small hospital in Virginia were hit with a series of surprises. With a three physician Neurology team that covered all inpatient consults at the hospital, administrators felt blessed to be fully staffed in that area. College football season had begun and the autumn leaves were still painting the landscape with their oranges and reds. Life was good.
Then, one of the neurologists suffered a massive heart attack and died. Upon hearing the news of his partners’ passing, the second neurologist, who had been considering retirement, quit the practice to spend more time with his family. After hearing this, the third neurologist decided he did not want to manage the practice all by himself and joined another group in Washington D.C.
Within a 48-hour period, hospital administrators went from “Life is good” to “How are we going to operate without any neurologists!”
At that same time, almost 2,800 miles away in Berkeley, California, Dr. Akram Shadeh had just completed a neurology fellowship training module. He was transferring to a program in New Jersey, but with almost a month until he was expected there, was anxious to find something to do until then.
Fortunately for both the hospital and Dr. Shadeh, Staff Care team members had been laying the groundwork the last few months for what was about to come.
Staff Care consultants had assisted the hospital with hospitalist locum tenens, as well as other searches that were underway. So when administrators started looking for neurology replacements, their first call was to Staff Care. Dr. Shadeh was also familiar with Staff Care. He had developed a rapport with a Staff Care recruiter who knew his particular needs and the type of work he wanted. When that recruiter called about the hospital neurology assignment, Dr. Shadeh was confident the recruiter had his best interests in mind.
Within days, the recruiter had presented several neurologists to the hospital, including Dr. Shadeh. The credentialing, logistics, and quality assurance teams sprang into action, mindful of the serious need confronting this hospital. Four different neurologists worked feverishly that fall to cover all of the hospitals' patient needs. That included Dr. Joana Woyciechowska, the first to begin locum tenens coverage, who worked six straight weeks with little to no breaks.
In a short time, Staff Care had provided the resources the hospital needed to meet its patient needs. And while that would make for a nice story, it is not the end. Up until now I’ve described what Staff Care “does”. The next part of the story is WHY what we do matters.
Later that fall, in the same small town in Virginia, a local businessman and hospital board member, was awakened in the middle of the night by his wife. Something was wrong with her, but she didn’t know what. The man called 911, and paramedics rushed his wife to the hospital.
Dr. Shadeh, who had been in town only two days, was paged for a consult and literally ran across the street from his apartment to the hospital. After evaluating the wife, Dr. Shadeh determined she was having a stroke and administered TPA – a powerful intravenous drug that breaks up stroke causing clots, but only if delivered in the first hour or two after symptoms start.
Dr. Shadeh’s quick thinking saved the woman’s life. That he, or anyone else, was available to do so, is testament to the ability of Staff Care effectively meet the needs of doctors and hospitals, in a timely manner. But that’s only “what we do”. Knowing we can have a positive impact on the health and well being of people across America is “why we do it”.