Henry Ford Health System announced Thursday that it has joined a new alliance with five other hospitals across the U.S. to improve staffing needs.
The alliance, called Evolve Health Alliance, will share human resources best practices on the well-being of employees, workforce data, implementation of diversity and inclusion programs, reciprocal agreements to help staffing and other functions.
Its members include AdventHealth in Altamonte Springs, Fla., Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C., Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y., OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio, and HFHS.
"We are thrilled to join this alliance and share best practices to enhance the workplace environment for our team members," Nina Ramsey, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for HFHS, said in a statement to Crain's.
Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.
"One of the greatest lessons learned from the pandemic is the power true partnerships can have. When we lean in to those relationships through the sharing of our collective experiences, initiatives and challenges, we can better position ourselves to address and adapt to meet the changing needs of our workforce, and ultimately the lives of those we serve."
Heather Brace, senior vice president and chief people officer at Intermountain Health, and Maxine Carrington, senior vice president and chief people officer at Northwell Health, will serve as co-chairs on the alliance's board.
Before the official formation of the alliance, the hospitals were in communication about workforce needs and staffing levels, the organization said in a press release. For instance, during the height of the pandemic, Intermountain sent 48 employees to Northwell to aid in caring for sick COVID patients. Northwell later sent staff to Utah when that state saw a spike in hospitalizations.
The alliance will also work collaboratively to develop leadership programs for the executive team at each of the health systems.
This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's Detroit Business.