BidShift Launches Staffing Effectiveness Technology at CHRISTUS Spohn Health Network; Technology Provides Nursing Staff Access t
February 07 2006 - 12:14PM
Business Wire
San Diego-based BidShift, a leading provider of web-based shift
scheduling technology and workforce effectiveness solutions for
healthcare providers, has implemented its online bidding system at
CHRISTUS Spohn Health System of Corpus Christi, TX to provide an
automated approach for filling open shifts across its six hospital
campuses. CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, part of CHRISTUS Health, is
the second system in the health network to utilize BidShift's
progressive staffing effectiveness technology, transforming what
traditionally has been a time and labor intensive manual process
and reducing reliance on expensive contract labor. Healthcare
organizations currently using BidShift across the U.S. are
experiencing substantial payback and annualized cost savings
ranging between $400,000 and $3.2 million per hospital. "BidShift's
technology decreases administrative time and streamlines open shift
scheduling for our nursing staff, allowing us to focus more
valuable time and resources on the delivery of patient care,"
stated Nora Frasier, Vice President and Chief Executive Nurse at
CHRISTUS Spohn Health System. "We use BidShift to increase
visibility of shift openings to qualified staff across all six
hospitals, substantially increasing our ability to fill both rural
and metropolitan shift openings from within our own expanded
resource pool." Nursing staff across all six hospitals use the
technology to log on from work or home, 24 hours a day, seven days
a week, to identify available shifts and make on-line requests for
shifts that match their skills, experience, and lifestyle
interests. In the first week(s) of implementation, over 800 nursing
staff have already signed up to take part in the cutting-edge
staffing program, and nearly 500 shifts have been filled. "By using
BidShift, we hope to encourage staff to work across all six
hospitals," stated Margot Rios, Associate Administrator at CHRISTUS
Spohn Hospital Alice. "We experience seasonal fluctuations in our
census in this vacation area. When a census is low in one hospital,
and the home based staff do not have enough work, we can now easily
offer them the opportunity to maintain their income without using
vacation time." CHRISTUS Spohn Health System is implementing
BidShift as a means to leverage the existing resource pool across
all six campuses, gain process efficiencies in the filling of open
shifts, and assure optimal coverage. One of the health system's
primary goals is also aimed at giving nursing staff more choice and
flexibility over the shifts they work, which is reflected in their
theme for the program, "It's your time, your choice." The health
system is using regular pay with targeted incentives for the
hardest-to-fill shifts to optimize deployment of nursing resources
where they are needed most. "CHRISTUS Spohn Health System is taking
the necessary steps to promote consistent, high-quality healthcare
across its hospital campuses while driving nurse retention and
satisfaction," said Bruce Springer, President and CEO of BidShift,
Inc. "We're proud to support their enterprise approach to
addressing their regional workforce shortage by increasing
awareness of the available opportunities." BidShift is currently in
over 75 hospitals across 18 states and the District of Columbia.
About CHRISTUS Spohn Health System CHRISTUS Spohn Health System is
a faith-based, comprehensive health care network consisting of six
hospital campuses -- CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi
(Shoreline, Memorial and South), CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Alice,
CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Beeville and CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital
Kleberg (Kingsville) -- as well as technologically advanced cardiac
and cancer services, a network of family health centers, and a
variety of wellness and specialty programs. About BidShift
BidShift, Inc. is the leading staffing effectiveness technology and
services company focused on helping healthcare organizations make
the best use of their existing workforce. By aligning incentives
and dynamically matching needs and availability using a variety of
approaches, staff are effectively deployed, labor costs are
reduced, and employee satisfaction is increased. The company's
innovative software and best practices empower healthcare
organizations to attract and retain qualified staff and deliver
cost-effective, high quality patient care. BidShift is a rapidly
growing, privately held company headquartered in San Diego,
California. To find out more about BidShift, visit
www.bidshift.com.