HWL Insights

For decades, school districts have relied on staffing partners to help solve workforce challenges. When a teacher resigns, a substitute is needed, or a specialized therapist position opens unexpectedly, staffing agencies step in to help fill critical gaps. That approach has served districts well and continues to play an important role in supporting schools.

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. 

Not all staffing solutions are built equal. And in healthcare, that difference isn't just operational. It's personal.

For more than 15 years, I built my career on the staffing side of healthcare.

As an MSP/VMS partner, we operate at a unique intersection — supporting healthcare organizations under workforce pressure while collaborating closely with agencies delivering care across nursing, rehab, and support services.

2026 marks a major milestone for HWL.

For today’s nursing leaders, clinical excellence depends on getting the right clinicians into the right units — all while maintaining compliance, controlling labor costs, and supporting care teams in a challenging workforce landscape.

When was the last time your nurse managers had bandwidth to focus on retention strategies, quality initiatives, or staff development without being buried in candidate phone screens?

HWL is thrilled to welcome Jamie Herold, M. Ed., to our leadership team as Senior Vice President of Education. She is a strategic education leader with deep experience across K-12 schools, program development, and education workforce strategy. Her career spans a range of school and organizational settings, including work in school formation, instructional and organizational design, leadership development, educator professional practice, and education staffing and services. 

The workforce management landscape in 2025 told a story of both challenge and transformation. Healthcare organizations spent over 50% of their budgets on labor costs while facing unprecedented staffing shortages, according to Redesign Health analysis. Education wasn't far behind, with 1 in 8 teaching positions either vacant or filled by uncertified educators, reports the Learning Policy Institute. Yet amid these challenges, innovative solutions emerged that are reshaping how organizations approach workforce strategy. 

The alarm bells are ringing across America's school districts. In Philadelphia, school officials struggle to fill around 2,000 vacancies each year despite having over 12,000 teachers. In Clark County, Nevada, the 2024-2025 school year began with 163 special education openings out of 320 total classroom vacancies. These aren't isolated incidents; they're symptoms of a nationwide workforce crisis threatening public education. 

Special education staffing shortages remain one of the most pressing challenges for K-12 districts. With IDEA compliance being non-negotiable, districts are adopting innovative strategies to ensure students receive required services despite a shrinking talent pool.

If you’ve explored VMS or MSP solutions for managing locum tenens staffing, you’ve probably heard warnings like: