Nurse administration/starting travel agency

Published Jul 19, 2016

51 Posts

I am wanting to start my own travel agency. The administration part is the part I need the most help with. I know how to start my own LLC agency. As far as getting agreements with hospitals and what documents I will need for the hospital and on my employees, I do not know how that aspect of the industry works.

First, how do I go about getting contracts with hospitals. Let's say I know Hospital A in this area of my state is short staffed often. Who do I reach out to at the hospital to ask them if they would want some travel employees from my agency? What type of paperwork and agreements are involved in getting set up with hospitals? Is it a long process? Do I have to buy insurance on my employees and what other fees are involved?

Second, is it smart to start my agency (LLC) and make myself my first nurse? For example, I'm on an assignment right now. They are very short staffed and love having me here. I feel I could get my own agency up and running within a couple of weeks and then I would just hire myself at this same hospital, but would have to get all the other stuff taken care of.

Third, what type of start up costs are involved? I have heard rumor that hospitals pay monthly to agencies instead of weekly like most employers pay employees. So, I assume I would need payroll for a month or two in advance for my employees. Also, how reliable are hospitals in paying the bill rate monthly (once again if that rumor is true and they even pay monthly)? Is it possible to send travelers into a hospital and it take 3-4 months of fighting with the hospital for them to pay you, taking them to court, etc and all that other hassle to actually get paid or are hospitals very reliable?

Finally, as far as bill rates go, I have read on a lot of threads that most bill rates are $60 regular hours, $90 for OT hours. Is this true? Are most hospitals around this mark? Any details on this part would be great as well.

Any information is helpful and the more the better. Anyone who has ever worked for hospital administration I would assume is very knowledgeable with the industry. I realize this is a lot of questions, but I'm trying to gather as much information as possible before I start the agency. Thank you in advance.