SSM Health launches flexibility programs for nurses

SSM Health, the St. Louis-based health provider that owns St. Mary's Hospital, has reshaped its employment approach for nurses to help develop and retain nurses.

Some residual challenges in health care remain following the COVID-19 pandemic.

So many nurses in every community, not just Jefferson City, have moved into "travel nursing" that it strains health care providers' efforts to attract and retain talented nurses, according to Stormy Anderson, human resources senior director for SSM Health in Mid-Missouri.

Demand for travel nurses -- those who work for an agency and fill in for health care providers -- exploded during the pandemic, according to https://www.healthaffairs.org. Pay was higher and hours were shorter, although traveling nurses spent time away from home.

In many cases, staff working at those health care facilities resented that the temporary employees earned much more than them, and morale suffered, according to the site.

SSM Health looked at providing more flexibility in the tasks nurses in each unit could participate in and hours when they worked.

Nurses who went into travel nursing wanted that flexibility, but also wanted to make full-time wages, according to Janet Wear-Enloe, director of business development and marketing. SSM Health looked at hospitals' PRN levels. PRN (pro re nata, or "as the situation requires") are registered nurses who work during shifts as required.

"Generally, you are PRN for one unit (such as intensive care) or another," Wear-Enloe said. "We have nurses that are really skilled and passionate about ICU. Then, they can be a PRN nurse in ICU."

Because they are in the PRN status, they don't normally get full benefit packages, she continued. There are different premium levels available for PRN because they don't get the normal benefits, she said.

SSM Health has seven new programs that allow nurses the ability to shape their careers, while giving them greater freedom and flexibility and earning potential.

Each program has slightly different work expectations than others. Nurses are able to select roles that fit their individual and professional preferences.

SSM Health PRN programs One through Three let nurses work around their schedule to pick up a few extra shifts every month. With PRN Four, nurses can enjoy the benefits of full-time travel nursing without missing home or experiencing the uncertainty of agency or freelance work. These "float pool" programs (when nurses fill in during short-unit staffing, or at times when the number of admitted patients exceeds a unit's maximum capacity per nurse set by standards of safety and quality) give nurses the chance to experience different SSM Health regions or specialties.

SSM Health prefers that nurses in the float pool are skilled in at least three different areas.

"As more companies are offering enticing alternatives to traditional employment, SSM Health saw the need to develop a lucrative program for today's caregivers," according to an SSM Health news release. Registered nurses in flexible nursing roles qualify for pay practices that are rarely offered to that segment of the workforce, including shift differentials, critical shift bonuses, and premiums.

Nurses can discover new ways of working while doing what they love. SSM Health Recruiters are ready to chat and create a schedule that fits their lifestyle. Learn more about SSM Health's Flexible Nursing Options by visiting https://jobs.ssmhealth.com/career-areas/flexiblenursing.

Cynthia Dixon, SSM Health vice president and chief nursing officer, said the health care provider developed a strategic task force about the beginning of this year.

"They started looking at -- what are nurses now and in the future looking for?" Dixon said. "What will incentivize nurses?"

The purpose of the program is to retain existing staff and keep new nurses in Jefferson City, Dixon added.

"Those nurses that are traveling to other states -- we want to try to keep them here in Missouri's market, especially Jefferson City," Dixon said.

The task force reached out to nurses in Missouri, and to nurses in states surrounding Missouri, she said. They wanted answers about what younger nurses want, she said.

"What they found out was (nurses) wanted more freedom. They wanted to make higher salaries," Dixon said. "A large percent do not necessarily want benefits."

After several months, the task force put the programs together, in hopes to standardize all of SSM Hospitals, so they all offer similar packages and incentives to nurses.

Having flexibility also helps the hospital because it prevents the provider from having to hire a number of extra people during the flu season (fall), when it may or may not need them.

"This was our way to really allow (nurses) to stay where they love taking care of their community members," Wear-Enloe said. "But, also get that opportunity to gain more experiences in different areas."