Sure, the healthcare job sector has not been negatively impacted like many industries but make no bones about it, it has been affected by the economy. Much of the good news relating to job growth comes out of healthcare, but I think it’s just the nature of the industry. If you’re sick, you’re sick. And hospitals have to be staffed.

But how easy is it to recruit a healthcare provider these days? I can tell you first hand that it’s much more difficult than it was just two years ago. This is largely due to the housing crisis and subprime lending – what else! If someone cannot sell their home, they are likely not going to relocate.

Recent indications are that the housing crisis has seen its worst days. But has it? The quarterly National Delinquency Survey showed that almost one in ten homeowners with a mortgage were at least one payment late, while another four percent had entered the foreclosure process on their loan.

Look at poor Florida. Yikes! The same survey found that from April to June, 12 percent of all Florida mortgages were in process of foreclosure and about 23 percent of all Florida mortgages were late on payments. California is in the same boat with over 10 percent of mortgages being 90 days or more past due or in foreclosure. California accounts for 13.3 percent of U.S. mortgages, and it's also the site of almost 20 percent of foreclosure from April to June.

There was more bad news from the Labor Department last week reporting for a second consecutive week an unexpected rise in jobless claims. But there was not much to report in healthcare. The more than 570,000 claims last week, following 561,000 the prior week will likely be bad news for the month of August report after some hopeful news in July.

So what does this mean to healthcare workers looking for work, or the recruiters who are trying to hire them? You’d better be creative with your relocation practices. Both job seekers and hospitals need to come together and compromise to make relocation possible. All too often a hospital will offer a small relocation package, but nothing beyond that. I would recommend hospitals partner with realtors and rental property agents and work out arrangements for filling vacancies, but with higher incentives. For example, we always ask rental managers for the first month’s rent free. You’d be surprised at how often you get it. Finding a suitable rental for a candidate who is moving to your community is always a hassle. If you can take the cost of it out of the equation, it can make the transition easier. After all, people tend to complain less when it’s free.

Secondly, hospitals might want to offer to pay for one to three months rent to take the financial stress off the candidate. Ask the property manager for a reduced rate in return for a one year lease. Recently, we were able to reduce a candidates rent by $200 by doing this. And having a cushion of 3-4 months to give them time to sell their home will do wonders for your recruitment program.

Finally, always offer a direct bill option to the candidate when it comes to paying for relocation. Legitimate moving companies are always willing to invoice a hospital for a move. This will also help minimize the stress on a candidate.

Dale Hannegan
RadSciences Group