CRMC Fights High Nurse Turnover Rate With Contracted International Registered Nurses

Cookeville Regional is looking to combat the national nursing shortage through international nurses.

Chief Nursing Officer Scott Lethi said that Worldwide Health Solutions will hopefully add stability to decrease a high turnover rate in the profession.

“The COVID surge for those that have been in nursing 20 to 30 years that can retire, some are seeking earlier retirement,” Lethi said. “As I alluded earlier, some of the younger generation are seeking and doing more travel nursing that is a trend that is up over the last few years and that is creating vacancies for us as well.”

Lethi said that recent statistics show roughly one in four new nursing graduates will leave the profession in about two years. He said that currently, the hospital is looking at close to 70 openings.

CRMC CFO Tommye Rena Wells said that the renewed contract with the Charlotte-based firm will cost some $17,500 each to recruit 20 international nurses.

Lethi said that each nurse comes in vetted and board-licensed in Tennessee, and is ready to serve as a dedicated nurse taking care of patients.

“It’s about two years to get them here because they’ve got to go through a whole process,” Lethi said. “Our government has to basically do a background check on them and their families, you have to get visas taken care of, applications. They come with a green card they’re not just coming in with a  foreign H-1B visa saying ‘Yes I will sponsor this individual for this duration.’ This is coming specifically to our organization ready with permission from the government to be here as an employee. As I said, foreign physical, vetted family background check, things of that nature. And they’re ready to come in with a Tennessee license.”

Wells said the agreement is a two-year contract agreement and takes about that long to receive nurses. Lethi said they originally did this contract in 2019, and opted to bump it up this year.

“We have seen turnover,” Lethi said. “I have one of the specialty units we got notification probably in the last two weeks that four nurses stay they’re going to take travel assignments, and within the last two months I’ve had three nurses tell their directors they’re going to leave the profession. Two of those nurses left in two years.”

Wells said CRMC is set to receive its first two international nurses this fall.