As of June 15, Sanford had extended 860 job offers to nurses in the Philippines, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, among other countries. The health system is partnering with the international nursing agency Connetics USA for recruitment and onboarding support.
The nurses will be employed directly by Sanford through an initial three-year contract, though the goal is to retain them for much longer, according to Ms. DeBoer. She said about 75 percent of the nurses Sanford leaders have interviewed are planning to come to the U.S. with their families.
The system said it welcomed its first seven internationally trained nurses last month and plans to gradually onboard more small groups of nurses over the next three years.
“We have them onboarded, and then we work with them on acculturation, because as you can imagine, there is a big transition that happens,” Ms. DeBoer said.
Sanford covers housing for nurses during their first few months in the country and has developed a program to help them navigate tasks such as setting up bank accounts and cellphones and connecting children with schools.
“As they join our communities, we want to wrap our arms around them and help them understand the importance of our resources,” Ms. DeBoer said. “We are trying to be incredibly intentional.”
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