IntelyCare

By Rebecca Love RN, MSN, FIEL / Chief Clinical Officer, IntelyCare Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have been giving everything they have to give, and then some. Our jobs have come first - ahead of our families, our friends, and ourselves. We are tired, and we are frustrated. Many of us are traumatized. For most nurses, it is not in our nature to seek public recognition. We do our job because we have a moral and ethical duty to do so to the best of our ability; we entered nursing because we believed it was a profession that would support our families as we supported others. We are proud to care for others, and we want to do it well. The system that we work in does not always make it easy for us. The long hours, rotating schedules, shifts and holidays, consistently short-staffed floors, and heavy workloads that fall on our shoulders are overwhelming. Over the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have been recognized as “heroes.” This started as a well-intentioned term of endearment inspired by authentic appreciation and awe, but it quickly devolved into a meaningless buzzword that has led nurses to feel anything other than “heroic.” We have been fighting an uphill battle, against incredible odds. Our mental health is suffering, so much so that 41% of us are considering leaving the profession for good. We may be making it through, but many of our patients have not. We have seen our patients die in numbers like we have never seen before. We have been the ones to stand at the transition of death for them as their families watched via an iPad. We were the last people they had contact within the painful last hours, days, and weeks of their lives. As we enter the Spring of the third year of this pandemic, with another wave cresting and falling behind us, Nurses Week looms in the distance. In years past, Nurses Week has been nothing more than an afterthought, defined by a heaping of platitudes with very little sincere recognition of the profession, which is a shame, as Nurses Week has an important role in the history of our profession. Nurses Week started with efforts to recognize a “Nurse Day,” back in 1953. The proposal to honor that day never came to fruition. In the decades that followed, many different attempts to recognize nurse “Days” and “Weeks” were made. It took until 1974 for “International Nurse Day” to be formally established on May 12, in honor of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, and only then by a nursing organization - the International Council of Nurses (ICN). As the years went on, May 6 became “National Nurses Day” (starting in 1982) and the week of May 6 – 12 became “National Nurses Week” (starting in 1991). The sheer number of attempts it took for nurses to receive a day of recognition speaks for itself. Nurses are necessary to the functioning of society. They bring our babies into the world, keep our loved ones healthy throughout their lives, and help usher them into death as comfortably and peacefully as possible when that time comes. And yet, it took decades to designate a day of recognition, that morphed into a week? And during that time the best we can do is throw them a pizza party that they might be able to enjoy the remnants of at the end of a long shift? So, how will a third year of pandemic nursing be celebrated? Cold pizza? Stale pastries? Maybe a flyer in the hallway that says, “Thank you to our Heroes!”? That has become the standard for most, but it is not the standard for all. It is time that Nurses Week really became a celebration, designed by nurses, for nurses – and that is what IntelyCare has done. A group of nurses at IntelyCare came together to say, “If we were to redesign Nurses Week, what would it look like?” IntelyCare is reimagining Nurses Week in so many ways. First and foremost, they are updating the name to Nursing Professionals Week. Whether you are a CNA, LPN, RN, or NP, you are equally worth celebrating and recognizing. IntelyCare knows that and is making it clear that everyone is included. Second, they are ditching the pizza party “celebration.” You may never guess what they are doing instead because it is almost too good to be true... They are hosting a cruise! Intely@Sea is a 5-day cruise out of Miami, traveling to the Bahamas. It is going to be packed with hundreds of nursing professionals – colleagues, friends, and soon-to-be friends – all on board to get the rest and relaxation that they deserve after all the hours of strenuous work that their careers have demanded of them. Third, over 20 courses for nursing professionals will be available to sign up for on the ship to receive Continuing Education credits – for free! That’s right – anyone on board Intely@Sea will be able to sign up for as many CE courses as they choose to earn their continuing education credits. All the courses will be taught by industry experts and colleagues. This is the way that nurses should be recognized and celebrated – with a Nursing Professionals Week that recognizes everyone’s commitments and contributions, that provides a real space to unwind and rejuvenate, and that gives access to many social and educational opportunities. Nurses give so much – it’s time that Nurses Week gives something to them. And with that: Give us some sun. Give us our friends. Give us relaxation. Give us a chance to learn more about how we can better provide care. And provide this form of ‘thanks’ to as many nursing professionals as possible. We’ll come back from an experience like this feeling truly appreciated and better equipped to do our jobs to the best of our ability – and feel like Nursing Professionals Week means something to all of us. Sources: National Nurses Week History Beyond Burnout: Nurses Suffer From PTSD as Spiraling Work Demands Force Them to Sacrifice Their Mental Well-Being How Will You Celebrate Nurses Week 2022?

We completely agree. It’s a tragic truth that many nurses have been permanently burned out and may never return to nursing. And one company may never be able to tackle all of the issues happening within the healthcare industry. However, we can do our best to strive for a better future of nursing. So by empowering nursing professionals to choose where they work, they can practice nursing without sacrificing benefits, job security, and competitive pay. IntelyCare wouldn’t exist if the problem you speak to didn’t exist. Our foundational goal, as championed by RN, NP-C, and Chief Nursing Officer, Chris Caufield, is to help solve this exact problem.

As a team founded by nurses and made for nurses, we feel your pain. And we believe the more support nurses have, the better equipped they will be to provide compassionate, quality care. Unfortunately, the individual nurse doesn’t have much control over that. But what they can control is who they work for. That’s why we’re empowering nursing professionals to choose where they work without sacrificing benefits, job security, and competitive pay, we allow nursing professionals to choose where they work. We also aim to help facilities get more staff on the floor, so patients get the care they deserve, and full-time staff gets the support they desperately need.

We totally agree that the more support nurses have on the floor, the safer, the care. Unfortunately, the individual nurse doesn’t have much control over that. But what they can control is who they work for. That’s why IntelyCare is empowering nursing professionals to choose where they work without sacrificing benefits, job security, and competitive pay, we allow nursing professionals to choose where they work. Don't like a facility? You don't have to go back. We also aim to help facilities get more staff on the floor, so patients get the care they deserve, and full-time staff gets the support they desperately need. Hi there, We hear you loud and clear. There are many changes to the nursing industry that could help put an end to improving overall patient care, nurse working environments, and improve the industry overall. But we can’t do it when we can’t work together to solve a common goal. Although the nursing school pipeline may need some tweaking, we play a key part in empowering nursing professionals to hold facilities accountable by allowing them to not only leave facility reviews that impact their public rating, but switch the facilities they work at without risking job security, access to benefits, and competitive pay rates. We don’t claim to solve the nursing industry issues in one swoop, but we strive every day to play a key role in tackling the daunting issue.

Hi there, We know that safe, friendly, accommodative, and productive nursing environments are few and far between these days. Many nursing facilities and hospitals do not have an effective system to maintain staffing standards and overall workplace environment without overburdening their staff. So by empowering nursing professionals to choose where they work without sacrificing benefits, job security, and competitive pay, we allow nursing professionals to choose where and when they practice, without sacrificing their livelihood. We know that technology doesn’t solve the problem alone. That’s why we use it to empower you, the nursing professional, to only work at the facilities where you feel you are fairly compensated and supported. IntelyCare wouldn’t exist if we didn’t understand the problem you speak to. Our foundational goal, as championed by RN, NP-C, and Chief Nursing Officer, Chris Caufield, is to help solve this problem.

Hi Daisy, You’re right to call out the pitfalls of gig work. The important thing to note with gig work is that not all gig work is created equal. Some per diem nurse employers hire nurses as 1099, which is contract work. Other employers, like IntelyCare, prioritize hiring nurses as W-2 workers, which means they are actual employees of the company. That means they get to enjoy all the benefits of per diem work, like the freedom to choose when and where they work, but they also have the option to take advantage of benefits like healthcare and dental coverage, life insurance, and disability plans. At IntelyCare, we also provide matching 401(k) programs, which can help you save for retirement. And most importantly, W2 employers will cover their employees for malpractice insurance – so if something does go wrong, the liability falls on the employer, not the nurse. You can find more information about W-2 vs.1099 work here. Our co-founder, Chris Caulfield, RN, NP-C, experienced nurse burnout first hand as a nurse working at an understaffed nursing facility. He found himself struggling when he was so often mandated to work overtime, or stuck on a short-staffed floor. At IntelyCare, it’s our mission to empower nursing professionals to transform the way they work. That means giving them the power to choose when they work, and where they work. If they don’t like a facility, they don’t have to go back. And if they don’t love working weekends, they never have to. But, if nurses love IntelyCare and make the choice to work full-time, they have the option to pick up more shifts with us and take advantage of all the benefits we have to offer. And, they have the freedom to stay with their current employer, and test us out, if they’re not 100% sure about making the switch to IntelyCare. If you would like to learn more about how IntelyCare is giving nurses access to a better work/life balance, you can find more resources here.

Hi there, We hear you loud and clear. We agree - the nurses that are currently in the field are struggling. For us, we don’t want just want more new nurses. It’s important that there are enough nurses staffed in facilities - a gig model allows for that. With our platform, facilities can flex full-time and part-time nurses, and when their full-time needs to take a break, they actually can do that because we have per diem nurses waiting to step in. The hope is that if the gaps in care are filled and nurses have opportunities to choose when they work and don’t, it can help reduce burnout and improve life for full-time nurses, part-time nurses, and administrators, and for patients. IntelyCare was founded specifically to improve the lives of nursing professionals that are currently in the field. At IntelyCare, our mission is to empower nursing professionals to transform the way they work. That means giving nurses new opportunities to work when they want, where they want, at the pay they want. Our nursing professionals can browse, filter, and pick up shifts that work for them, all from our easy-to-use app. As a W-2 employer, we also make sure we give our nursing professionals benefits and freedom, and flexibility. So, they can opt-in to our health insurance and 401(k), and we also provide them with additional securities, like malpractice insurance, workers compensation, and employer-paid taxes. For us, it’s not just about getting more nurses in the field for the sake of having more nurses. We believe nurses need new, more accommodating, flexible ways to work. If you’d like to learn more about IntelyCare and our mission, you can read more here. If you’d like to read why some of our nursing professionals choose IntelyCare, we encourage you to read Dana Hess’s story.

Nursing shortages have long troubled the nursing and healthcare industry. The aging US population means more people with comorbidities and requires more acute and chronic care management than ever before. Due to the ever-aging population, nursing professionals are in higher demand than ever before. However, these nursing professionals are spread thin, working longer hours in an increasingly demanding work environment. And because of this, one million nurses are expected to retire by 2030. In addition, nursing programs across the country struggle to expand their capacity to train the increasing number of nursing professionals needed to provide quality care to our communities. These factors contribute to an inefficient marketplace for nurses, the effects of which are especially pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the worst of the pandemic is over, the demand for nursing professionals is here to stay. And in a constantly evolving industry, nursing work isn’t getting any easier. During the pandemic nurses needed to get trained quickly and effectively on how to stop the spread of COVID-19. Training like this will only be increasingly needed to meet patient’s needs in the ever-changing nursing field. All of this extra stress and lack of sufficient staffing can lead to burnout - which not only has negative implications on an individual nurse’s health, but can also harm patient care: studies show that nurse burnout can negatively impact patient infection rates, patient satisfaction, and the overall quality of care found in healthcare facilities. At the height of the pandemic, many nursing professionals took time off, out of fear of exposing themselves, or their families, to the virus. This sidelined workforce only further exacerbated the nursing shortage. And while the COVID-19 outbreak placed an intense strain on the entire healthcare industry, by far one of the most impacted were skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. These post-acute facilities, which care for populations most vulnerable to COVID-19, lacked the funding and resources necessary to meet the heightened demand for full-time staff. However, for many nursing professionals looking for side hustles to earn more during the pandemic or temporarily coming out of retirement to fight the virus, new and endless opportunities presented themselves, especially at long-term care facilities where the demand for temporary work surged. Enter gig work. Nurses and nursing facilities need new, better ways to work. According to an NPR report, the pandemic has intensified the country’s nursing shortage but “created opportunities for nurses willing to take on the riskiest work. The booming gig economy has given some a chance to double their pay.” So smart staffing and scheduling solutions don’t just help facilities, it helps the nursing professionals. While traditional nursing gigs often have set schedules and little flexibility, gig and per diem nursing jobs give nursing professionals a greater work-life balance. So they can choose when they want to work, and take time off when they need it, whether it’s to further their education or spend time with family, without sacrificing job security. But it doesn’t just provide nurses with a better work/life balance - it’s integral to solving staffing shortages at nursing facilities. With advanced data science, gig nursing has emerged as an efficient way for nursing facilities to staff on-demand shifts. Gig nursing has historically been inefficient due to pen and paper processes that often lead to games of phone tag. However, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies now enables facilities to predict when they need to optimize their schedule and dynamically fill their gaps in care with local nurses. So predictive algorithms take the busy work out of staffing and automate an outdated process. The gig economy hasn’t just helped fill shifts more quickly during the pandemic, it’s provided a substantial avenue for nurses to explore new and desirable employment models they may not have considered before. While the pandemic will hopefully soon be a thing of the past, the nursing shortage will continue to loom large for years to come if we don’t embrace new ways to work. To eradicate big problems like burnout, staffing shortages, and retention, the tech-enabled gig economy proves to be the future of work. While nursing colleges across the country need to broaden their programs to a wider audience, empowering the next generation of nursing professionals is a start. At IntelyCare, we've launched a $5,000 scholarship aimed at helping the next generation of healthcare heroes get into the workforce.