Partnerships help healthcare workers near and far hone their skills

Healthcare organizations are helping workers in their communities and across the globe boost their clinical credentials and find new career opportunities, thanks to recent partnerships.

New Orleans-headquartered Ochsner Health is supporting Ukrainian nurses seeking refuge from the war with Russia by providing jobs for them in the U.S. And St. Louis-based Mercy is training Air Force Reserve Command medics so they remain prepared if deployed.

In October, Mercy expanded its existing, single-region Air Force partnership to serve medics living in all regions where it operates. It allows the reservists to clock their required direct patient care and simulation lab hours at 12 Mercy hospitals in three states. Training can last from one to 90 days, depending on individual requirements.

Lt. Col. Ed Hubbell, who oversees the program, has worked at Mercy more than 20 years and has served in the military 37 years. The partnership, for which the system does not receive funding from the Air Force, is about providing hands-on opportunities for reservists, he said.

“They may be teachers, accountants, bus drivers—an array of civilian jobs. But they perform medical skills when they’re deployed. For them, it’s even more imperative that they have the opportunity to receive that training and get that competence level,” said Hubbell, vice president of business partnerships for Mercy Technology Services.

Reservists are not onboarded as Mercy staff members. But Ochsner’s partnership will eventually lead to more employees for the health system.

Ochsner leaders recently announced the health system will move eight Ukrainian nurses and their families nearly 6,000 miles from their home country to work at its facilities. They’re doing so through the “Passport2Liberty” program operated by healthcare credentials evaluation organization CGFNS International.

“We are able to move them here to work at Ochsner, and we will support their families and help them find schools and housing,” said Tracey Schiro, executive vice president, chief human resources officer and chief administrative officer.

Through its latest effort to bring international staff to the health system, Ochsner will provide tools to help the nurses become proficient in English, pass the National Council Licensure Examination, and complete the necessary documentation so they can stay in the U.S.

“Their skill sets transition very well into the U.S., and they’re very hard-working,” said Lee Youngblood, director of system nursing strategy at Ochsner who’s leading the program.

She said the biggest challenge is the language barrier, but the nurses typically pick up adequate English skills within a few months. Since launching the partnership in July, the health system has selected the first family, who recently arrived in New Orleans.

“Just like every other health system across the U.S., we’re all struggling with workforce issues and this program definitely helps fill that gap for us,” Schiro said.

Leaders at both health systems said they hope to see their programs expand over time.

Ochsner has committed itself to diversifying its staff through international recruitment in recent years. It already employs over 200 international nurses from Nigeria, Singapore and other countries.

Mercy leadership said the medic program is a win-win for both sides of the partnership.

“The reservists are bringing their perspective, we’re bringing our perspective, and that always leads to better outcomes,” said Betty Jo Rocchio, Mercy’s senior vice president and chief nursing officer.

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