Washington State Strike – Early 2020
Executive Summary
Seven facilities in Washington State experienced a strike in early 2020. They needed to quickly deploy nursing staff to cover the striking nurses to maintain care for their patients. Additional challenges included:
1. The seven facilities ranged from Level I trauma to Level IV.
2. The novel coronavirus was active in the area.
3. Antifa presence at multiple campuses.
The Challenge
A large Washington hospital system with seven facilities (5 hospital campuses and 2 ambulatory surgery centers) in three cities Seattle, Spokane and Everett had been notified of an impending strike by their nurses’ union. The hospital campuses varied from Level I trauma to Level IV and had a total of 1,571 beds with services to include: behavioral health, heart/vascular, neuro, ortho, emergency/urgent care, women’s services, neonatal and pediatric service, inpatient and ambulatory service, organ transplant, primary care, pharmacy, surgical, and imaging service.
Additional challenges included strong social media attacks from the union, back-to-back shootings in Seattle the week prior to the strike, active coronavirus in the Seattle area, and Antifa presence at the various campuses and hotels.
Strike Length: 5 days
The Solution
Utilize RapidStaff to provide replacement workers.
By managing the credentialing process and coordinating the operational logistics with the hospital system and workers, RapidStaff was able to provide 395 replacement workers.
Credentialing Process:
The RapidStaff credentialing team provides a Pre-Assignment Screening. This includes, but is not limited to, skills checklists, required certifications, any and all valid state license(s) as applicable/required, background check letter or evidence of a sufficient background check, work history, references and all medical information- including current physical and TB (within one year of assignment date), Varicella, MMR, Hepatitis B (titer or vaccination or declination) and seasonal influenza immunization or declination. Once confirmed for the strike, a background check is initiated which includes an SSN trace, FACIS (which includes OIG/SAM verification), sex offender search and an enhanced nationwide criminal search.
Service Levels Provided:
RapidStaff provided wall-to-wall services, including allied medical professionals, environmental service workers, pharmacy, certified nursing assistants, patient access workers, imaging professionals and registered nurses.
Operational Logistics:
7 facilities (5 hospital campuses and 2 ambulatory care centers), 6 hotels, 665 replacement workers requested/711 initially confirmed/395 deployed. Flights and Housing provided. Transportation also provided to and from hotel to facility and back- 4 full size coaches, 13 minibuses, 9 straggler vans.
Outcome of Strike:
Successful partial deployment, successful commencement of strike, successful conclusion of strike.
Benefits of RapidStaff
| Quick Deployment | RapidStaff was able to secure qualified and credentialed replacement workers and have them on location within 3-5 days from request. |
| Credentialing | The RapidStaff team quickly and effectively ensured that all replacement workers were credentialed for the positions requested |
| Cross-Discipline Coverage | With access to allied medical professionals, medical technicians, patient access workers and medical professionals at numerous levels, RapidStaff was able to provide for the full staffing needs of the hospital system during the strike. |
About RapidStaff
RapidStaff provides consulting, support and replacement staff in the event your facility has a labor stoppage, disruption or shortage. Our leadership has more than 50 years of emergency staffing experience. We have worked with hundreds of facilities and provided thousands of replacement staffers during a strike.
Should your facility face a potential labor disruption, we know choosing the right vendor for support it vital. RapidStaff believes that a staffing crisis should not alter your day-to-day activities, and we assist your facility to continue to provide the top-notch care to your patients, caregivers and community experts.
RapidStaff assists in preparation, planning, staffing, operations, logistics, and execution of strike and emergency staffing plans. We assist you so you bargain in good faith with your labor unions, while being fully prepared in the event a labor disruption might occur.
RapidStaff Guarantee
Consultative Partnership
– Plan development for fulfillment needs
– Guarantee of delivery
– Seamless business continuity consulting
– Partnership with mutual trust
Flexibility & Scalability
– Customized to your circumstance
– Immediate adjustments to support changing needs
– Changing location or focus as needed
Recruitment, Execution & Transition
– High quality screening and recruitment performed by internal clinical teams
– Seamless management of staffing, travel and logistics
– Current and future state understanding
– Transitional support until an agreement is signed
Quality & Fiduciary
– Managing needs identified for deployment
– Collaborating on potential future needs
– Optimizing operational efficiency