Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health's internal travel nurse program grew threefold during the pandemic, CNBC reported March 28.
Trinity developed FirstChoice, its in-house travel nurse program, after realizing older nurses were looking to scale back from full-time work and young nurses wanted higher pay and greater flexibility over their work conditions. The program covers 26 states and nearly 90 hospitals.
"It's not like the old days where nurses became inpatient nurses for 30 years. A lot of new graduates expect to work in an inpatient setting for only a few years, and then they want to get their master's degree, or become nurse practitioners," Trinity CEO Mike Slubowski told CNBC.
Nearly 1 in 10 of Trinity's nurses work through FirstChoice, including a dozen senior leaders, according to the report. The program allows Trinity to have more control over its contract nursing costs while maintaining ties to nurses.
Other hospitals and systems are starting similar programs to cut agency labor costs, according to the report.