HWL Insights

The healthcare industry has become an increasingly complex balancing act. Between regulatory changes, staffing shortages, and patient volume fluctuations, running a healthcare organization today feels like performing surgery while the operating room transforms around you. The question isn't whether unexpected challenges will hit your facility—it's when, and how ready you'll be to handle them. 

From workforce shortages to challenges in retention and recruitment, developing sustainable strategies is essential for driving organizational performance and ensuring long-term success in healthcare.

In a time when the nursing workforce faces unprecedented challenges—burnout, turnover, and unsustainable costs—healthcare leaders must look beyond reactive staffing models. At this year’s AONL Annual Conference, Amanda Wheeler, Vice President of InSourcing at HWL, sat down with the AONL podcast team to discuss how organizations can shift from scrambling to fill shifts to building resilient, future-ready workforce strategies.

Healthcare organizations face mounting pressure to maintain optimal staffing levels while managing costs and quality care. A resilient provider staffing strategy requires three key elements: rate transparency, workforce optimization, and administrative efficiency. HWL helps empower partners to do this every day here are some key learnings in each category:

Healthcare organizations face unprecedented workforce challenges as the staffing market continues to contract and evolve. This article examines the latest industry data and reveals how HWL's comprehensive suite of solutions can help healthcare providers navigate these challenges while optimizing their workforce strategy and controlling costs.

South Shore Health (SSH) has long been a leader in delivering exceptional care. As Massachusetts’ only community-based Level III NICU and one of just three Level II Trauma Centers in the state, SSH sets the standard for regional healthcare. Its nationally recognized cardiac program performs more than 3,500 procedures annually and consistently ranks among the top 10 hospitals in the state.

Exploring thought leadership in healthcare through engaging conversations with industry leaders

As healthcare systems navigate ongoing financial challenges, a promising shift is emerging. Recent analysis from Moody's Investor Services reveals an encouraging trend in the sector's financial health, with operating cash flow margins approaching 7%. While this signals a positive trajectory toward recovery, healthcare organizations must strategically navigate ongoing challenges to maintain this momentum. 

The concept of an Internal Resource Pool (IRP) is no longer a “nice to have” in healthcare—it’s a strategic imperative. With workforce volatility, increasing patient acuity, and tightening budgets, healthcare organizations must cultivate agile, cost-effective, and clinically competent staffing solutions.

Managing payroll is a difficult task for any company, but even more so in healthcare. Between irregular scheduling based on patient demand, overtime, shift wage differentials, various worker classifications, benefits management, and strict labor laws, healthcare administrative teams are kept busy, to say the least. On top of it all, hospitals have seen high turnover rates (currently standing at ~20%) over the past few years, meaning teams are constantly on- and offboarding staff and updating payroll systems. 

Staffing shortages, rising costs, compliance complexities, and more have been some of the most common challenges in the healthcare space for the past few years. Legacy systems and medical devices also pose cybersecurity risks that are often overlooked. Outdated staffing protocols foster inefficiency and lost revenue.

As a flex pool or travel nurse, you're often the "new nurse" on different units. While this role brings exciting opportunities, it also presents unique challenges. Here's how to navigate them with confidence and professionalism.

One of the top concerns for healthcare companies of all sizes year over year is striking a balance between patient needs, remaining compliant, and staying in the green financially. This last point has certainly become quite a challenge due to ever-growing complexities in staff management and healthcare administration. 

In a compelling industry panel discussion hosted by Health Connect South, four healthcare leaders came together to share their perspectives on an industry at a crossroads. The panel discussion, The State of Healthcare: Industry Leaders Perspectives, which brought together voices from different corners of healthcare, revealed both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in transforming healthcare. 

As a nurse, you're always looking for ways to grow your skills and advance your career. Flex pool nursing, often seen primarily as a way to enjoy scheduling flexibility, actually offers a wealth of professional development opportunities. Let's explore how being part of a nursing flex pool can boost your career and expand your skillset. 

While nurses were more widely recognized during the COVID-19 pandemic, the allied health sector—comprising a wide range of professionals from imaging specialists to rehabilitation therapists—has also undergone significant changes. As healthcare leaders face ongoing staffing challenges, the demand for allied health professionals continues to rise, underscoring their critical role in comprehensive patient care.

As healthcare organizations navigate the constantly evolving landscape, the need for scalable, efficient, and cost-effective solutions has never been more critical. The challenges of managing a growing workforce, fluctuating patient volumes, and increasing regulatory demands require innovative approaches. This is where Vendor Management Systems (VMS) and Managed Service Providers (MSP) come into play, offering the flexibility and scalability that healthcare organizations need to thrive.

The cornerstone of exceptional patient care in modern healthcare systems lies in the effective management of a skilled and adaptable workforce. For large health systems, this challenge is magnified when it comes to coordinating temporary physician coverage, known as locum tenens. The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group (UVMHN) recently faced this challenge head-on, embarking on a transformative journey to revolutionize its locum tenens management. It is the story of how a fragmented system evolved into a streamlined, unified program that not only improved operations but also enhanced patient care.