Deaconess Health System Streamlines Locum Tenens Management with Syncx
A Commitment to Keeping High-Quality Care Locally Owned and Managed
Deaconess Health System is the leading provider of healthcare services in southwestern Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeastern Illinois. Serving a population of more than 1.5 million residents, the healthcare system includes 19 hospital locations throughout the tri-state area.
Deaconess has witnessed remarkable growth over the past several years. As part of its commitment to advancing the health and well-being of its community, Deaconess has acquired numerous shuttered or struggling hospitals in the area, ensuring they remain locally owned and managed versus being purchased by large, out-of-region conglomerates.
Rising Demand, High Costs Lead to Increased Reliance on Locum Clinicians
The Deaconess Health System Director, Anesthesia and Emergency Department Providers, is charged with staffing anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) to meet the rapidly growing anesthesia needs throughout the system’s 19 hospitals. Faced with a 40% vacancy rate in anesthesia providers, she and her team turned to their locum tenens staffing partners to fill that gap.
While its locum tenens provider program allowed Deaconess to continue delivering the high quality of care for which the health system is known, the team struggled with:
- High demand and costs for anesthesia providers
- Inefficient management of multiple locum tenens agencies
- Time-intensive administrative work
- Lack of standardization in processes and communication
According to the Director, “Each locum staffing agency had its own software and communications process. Internal recruitment and anesthesia contact needed to be involved in every email from each different agency. This was inefficient, expensive, and frustrating for our team. We needed to find a managed service provider (MSP) that would help us reduce our locum spend and drive efficiencies.”
Exit Chaos. Enter Syncx.
When searching for the right MSP partner, the Director and her team assessed several criteria. They wanted to consolidate agency agreements, streamline rates and processes, increase visibility, and reduce the number of administrative tasks that created headaches for the team. After meeting Syncx at a conference and learning more about Syncx MSP, they decided to move forward with a partnership, which would enable them to:
- Centralize management of their locum staffing agencies
- Standardize communication and invoicing processes
- Integrate their existing systems with Syncx MSP
- Gain a dedicated team committed to customer service and support.
“What sets Syncx apart is their customer service and attention to Deaconess. Syncx had a dedicated team that was at our beck and call,” explained the Director. “We were their priority. Moreover, they worked with us through the change management process, which was no simple task.”
Syncx was very detailed and involved in the implementation process, asking many questions to get to the heart of challenges that needed solving. She added, “Any time you have a software implementation and process change, you are going to have hiccups. When we encountered issues, we quickly resolved them with Syncx. The whole process has been extremely collaborative, and I’ve been impressed with Syncx’s level of dedication and responsiveness.”
Streamlining Processes, Cutting Costs, Reducing Administrative Burden
Syncx manages more than 30 different locum agencies through Syncx MSP, filling more than 2,000 healthcare provider shifts since the engagement began in March 2024. Now, in-house and agency recruiters can turn to strategic priorities and relationship-building versus the tedious administrative tasks that had bogged them down before engaging with Syncx.
In the first five months, the results have been impressive. Deaconess saw a significant reduction in agency locum overtime, which dropped from 8.0% to just 2.3%. Additionally, they were getting more coverage and increased case volume for the same cost.
The partnership with Syncx also drove standardization across the organization. “We standardized how we pay overtime for locum providers across sites, set expectations for locum providers across the organization, and improved communications,” shared the Director.
Possibly the most meaningful benefit for her and her team has been the decrease in administrative burden. She comments, “The reduction in administrative tasks has been life-changing. We can take on more meaningful, strategic initiatives, such as getting in the operating room and building relationships with providers, instead of scheduling on spreadsheets.”
Deaconess | Syncx MSP benefits:
- Overtime costs reduced to 2.3% from 8.0%
- Increased coverage and case volume without additional costs
- Reduced administrative burden on internal staff
- Standardized processes across the system
- Improved employee satisfaction and potential for better retention
Looking to the future, Deaconess is confident its partnership with Syncx will help increase retention and drive recruitment success as employee satisfaction continues to rise. Long term, Deaconess aims to reduce its reliance on locum tenens, increase provider retention, and potentially expand the Syncx partnership.
Advice for Healthcare Systems Struggling with Provider Staffing
The Director’s advice to other healthcare systems facing similar challenges? “You have to look outside the box, look at strategic initiatives, and identify technology that will help you achieve your goals. It’s a lot of work and a lot of change, but there is so much value you can gain by partnering with a company like Syncx. It changes the landscape of your day-to-day, and frees you up to do things you didn’t know you needed – and wanted – to do.”
With Syncx, Deaconess Health ensures all shifts are filled optimally so they can continue focusing on what matters most: providing the highest quality care to their patients.
Book a demo with Syncx today to discover how you can gain control over your locum staffing process.
