How International Recruitment Agencies Can Help Rural Hospitals

Female nurse visiting girl lying in hospital bed

Is your rural health organization or critical access hospital struggling to address issues related to workforce shortages, rising labor costs, competitive job markets, and high turnover among staff? A healthcare staffing partner that offers international direct hire recruitment services may be the solution.

In this guide, we’ll break down the challenges facing critical access and community hospitals in rural areas, why international direct hire is a good solution for addressing these issues, and what your healthcare organization should consider before hiring an international staffing agency partner.

Challenges for Rural Health Organizations

Despite the fact that nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population—that is, more than 60 million Americans—lives in rural areas, these communities are frequently underserved when it comes to quality healthcare. This can be attributed to the challenges facing rural health organizations.

Lack of Resources

Rural hospitals typically serve communities that span multiple counties, yet they often have fewer nursing resources, specialized services, and beds available. Because the provider-to-patient ratio is greater in rural areas, this can overburden the healthcare professionals at these facilities.

To make matters more difficult, rural hospitals have been closing steadily for the last decade, reducing access to quality care for patients in rural communities. In fact, 71% of the decline in community hospitals between 2017 and 2021 were rural facilities. As more rural health

Unique Healthcare Needs

According to the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), rural populations have unique health needs related to common socioeconomic factors, such as lower per capita income, transportation difficulties, lack of quality internet access, higher rates of unemployment, and more uninsured residents. All of these factors can prevent residents from seeking care outside of emergencies.

Among populations where preventative care, ongoing treatment, and public health initiatives aren’t embraced, long-term health complications that require more specialized services can arise. This can be more difficult for rural health facilities to address, due to the general lack of resources.

Staffing Shortages

Per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, roughly 70% of designated health professional shortage areas are rural communities. Not only do rural health facilities struggle to fill open positions among physicians and allied health specialists, but they’re also experiencing more significant workforce shortages with nursing staff compared to their urban counterparts.

Approximately 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce after the COVID-19 pandemic, and nearly 800,000 RNs have indicated interest in leaving the industry by 2027, which suggests rural hospitals will continue to feel the strain with their nursing resources.

Difficulty Recruiting Talent

In general, healthcare organizations in large metropolitan areas have an easier time recruiting permanent staff, thanks to the variety of amenities, competitive job market, educational opportunities, and diverse cultures associated with city living. This can make attracting top talent to rural areas more difficult, where communities are smaller, locations are more remote, and amenities may not be as plentiful.

In addition, rural community hospitals are smaller and have fewer specialized departments, meaning healthcare professionals at these facilities are expected to have more autonomy, work across multiple specialties, and care for a wider range of patients. This can make recruiting harder, as healthcare workers who prefer more focused positions or have less experience may not consider these jobs.

International Direct Hire as a Solution for Rural Facilities

While many rural health organizations may turn to staffing agencies or managed services providers (MSPs) that offer temporary healthcare staffing solutions—which can help solve these issues—it may be worthwhile for facilities to consider working with an international staffing agency that offers direct hire solutions for long-term and permanent staffing.

What Is Direct Hire?

Direct hire is when a healthcare organization works with a recruitment agency to source, prescreen, and hire full-time permanent healthcare staff. In the case of international direct hire, this means the agency finds and recruits candidates from outside of the U.S.

Unlike a sponsorship program, where the international candidate is sponsored and employed by the recruitment agency, direct hire means the third-party agency will assist in recruiting and hiring the candidate, but your healthcare organization sponsors and employs the candidate.

Why Direct Hire Is Ideal for Rural Hospitals

International recruitment for direct hire placement provides an innovative, cost-effective solution for rural hospitals because it offers the best long-term value. Many rural health facilities prefer direct hire of clinicians vs. the alternative sponsorship route, as they can fully invest in the career of the healthcare professional they hire.

Not to mention, a direct hire candidate will become a permanent staff member at the hospital and a member of the local community, meaning they themselves will have a more vested interest in their position with the facility.

Additionally, a rural facility using the direct hire model pays their agency partner a one-time fee to recruit a healthcare professional. Through a sponsorship program, the facility would pay an ongoing fee to the agency, which then manages the healthcare worker and how they are paid.

“Rural hospitals must be careful stewards of their resources,” explains Lisa Taylor, Vice President of TRS International. “The direct hire route provides an affordable solution for rural facilities and makes it easier for them to serve their communities.”

What to Look for in an International Staffing Agency

When choosing an international healthcare recruitment company to assist with your direct hire needs, your rural health organization should consider the following factors.

Experience

It’s crucial that your rural hospital partners with a staffing agency with specific experience in international direct hire. There are plenty of recruitment companies that know how to staff travel nurses, travel allied health specialists, and locum tenens physicians from within the U.S. But you need an agency that has a thorough understanding of both healthcare staffing and international immigration to help you effectively source, recruit, and hire international clinicians.

Companies that specialize in international staffing know the ins and outs of the immigration process, understand which educational backgrounds and skills are transferrable to a U.S. healthcare setting, and are able to provide support in relocating clinicians from abroad.

Transparency

When working with any third-party company—whether that’s for international direct hire or consultative staffing services—it’s crucial that you find a partner willing to be transparent.

Your chosen international recruitment agency should be able to clearly explain the recruitment and placement process, when and where they’ll provide support, how they’ll communicate with your rural health facility, and what costs are associated with the hiring process.

Value

Recruiting and hiring staff for your rural hospital is not only time-consuming; it can also be costly if it’s not managed appropriately, which means you’ll need to take into account both your budget and the payment model offered by a third-party recruitment company when deciding on a staffing partner.

This is where the difference between direct hire and sponsorship matters. If you’re seeking a permanent staffing solution, the direct hire model can provide more value. This model typically includes a one-time fee that covers the sourcing and recruitment process. After that, the agency isn’t involved with your international direct hire candidate—they’re now your employee.

Be sure to ask the company you’re interested in working with about their hiring model and payment structure, as this will help you determine the best partner for your budget and staffing needs.

Qualified Candidates

Similar to the hiring processes for U.S.-based healthcare professionals, it’s important that you hire qualified international candidates to fill your permanent staff positions.

An international recruitment agency should have a good track record of sourcing clinicians who are experienced and properly licensed to work in their specialty. In addition, the agency should have a demonstrable history of recruiting healthcare professionals who are eager to both work in the U.S. and obtain permanent positions at rural health facilities.

Level of Support

Depending on the staffing agency you work with, you may experience varying levels of support with your international job candidates throughout the recruitment and placement process. This is why it’s good to ask upfront what you can expect regarding the agency’s provided immigration support.

For instance, a good international recruitment partner will not only help your rural health organization source and recruit qualified candidates, but they will also assist in the logistics of relocating the candidate to the U.S.

That is, they would help with finding housing, enrolling children in local schools, setting up bank accounts and phone lines, getting Social Security numbers, obtaining transportation, and more.

Why You Should Partner with TRS International

If you want an international healthcare recruitment agency with experience, transparency, value, qualified candidates, and ongoing support, TRS International may be the right partner for you.

With leadership that brings three decades of experience in international staffing, TRS International is the partner your rural hospital can trust and rely on.

We know that sourcing and hiring permanent staff is time-consuming and expensive, which is why we ensure that the international direct hire process is simple for you. We recruit candidates, take the lead on immigration logistics, assist in relocation, and offer ongoing support so that your rural health facility can focus on what matters most—providing quality care for your patients.

“Our team will streamline the process of recruiting and placing high-quality permanent staff who will provide excellent care and set facilities up for a smoother path forward. Our goal is to exceed expectations every time,” says Lisa Taylor, VP of TRS International.

Ready to see what we can do for your rural health organization? Schedule a call with the TRS Managed Services or the TRS International team today by filling out this short request form.

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