Cultivating a Culture of Change: Revitalizing Workforce Management at University of New Mexico Hospital 

At the 2024 Aya Ideas Retreat, Mariam Price, director of staffing for University of New Mexico Hospital, discussed the transition of partnering with Aya Healthcare to provide better controls, processes and technology in its contingent labor program. She was part of a panel discussing the transformation journey, highlighting the complexities of change management and sharing insights for achieving widespread adoption.  

Background

The University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) is a 600-bed inpatient facility located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The health system serves a broad population across 30-plus clinics, a Level 1 trauma center and the state’s only children’s hospital. UNMH also supports the county jail system. 

In 2021, Price inherited an inefficient staffing process. “I felt like I was in the middle of a tornado,” she recalled. “It was very evident that we had no plan on how we were going to be successful with staffing.” UNMH was managing over 100 vendors without a systematic approach to compliance or resource management. Rates were inconsistent, often exceeding $200 per hour, and there was no way to effectively track or manage travelers. 

The Turning Point

Price realized their current contingent labor program was failing when filling a single position, like a medical-surgical or OR tech, took more than 60 days. In 2022, UNMH partnered with Aya Healthcare, bringing a systematic solution including technology, process updates and enhanced services to overcome their staffing challenges. Aya’s platform, LotusOne, offered real-time visibility into the staffing lifecycle and compliance status, a significant shift from Price’s early days of emailing units for lists of travelers. UNMH gained clarity and control over its workforce, enabling them to address inefficiencies head-on.  

Aya Healthcare’s Solution

Aya Healthcare transformed vendor management and streamlined operations at UNMH by reducing the number of vendors and implementing consistent processes. Key solutions included:

• LotusOne: Aya Healthcare’s proprietary workforce management platform, LotusOne, provides real-time insights into staffing needs. From sourcing and deployment to workforce optimization, LotusOne helps UNMH solve for current and future challenges.

“Managers log into a portal and trust that this person is starting with this bill rate, with this shift, with this expertise, with this level. There was some resistance, but everyone appreciates the process now.”

Mariam Price: Director of staffing for University of New Mexico Hospital

• Streamlined compliance: Before Aya Healthcare, Price spent hours reviewing compliance documentation for each clinician. Now the Aya Healthcare team takes care of this, uploading all required documents in LotusOne. This shift relieves the UNMH team from time-consuming document reviews and equips clinicians with the necessary documentation and licensing from day one.
• Aya Offers: Previously, each manager was responsible for interviewing candidates, but with so many open positions, candidates often found other offers by the time UNMH reached out. Now Aya Healthcare’s experienced Clinical Services team, composed of seasoned nursing leaders, reviews each candidate profile to confirm alignment with unit needs and job requirements. With Aya Offers, Aya can immediately extend an offer after the clinical services team approves a candidate. This streamlined process enables faster placements by allowing unit leadership a 24-hour response window, reducing the risk of losing qualified candidates.
• Proactive planning: Aya introduced initiatives like holiday extensions in June, ensuring the hospital stayed ahead of staffing shortages.

The Impact

Aya’s partnership with UNMH had a transformative impact:

• Faster placements: Positions that once took more than 60 days to fill were filled in a fraction of the time.
• Consistency in staffing: Aya’s focus on standardization brought the consistency leadership sought, with the same clinicians returning with the expertise needed to hit the ground running.
• Operational efficiency: Aya’s governance system reduced the complexity of managing more than 100 vendors and improved communication with more than 50 unit leaders.

“We’re seeing a lot of benefits from the initiatives the Aya team would bring forth to us. It really has opened up a lot of doors. Now we’re trying to explore working with Aya for permanent, gig and international hiring to continue to have success.” 

Mariam Price: Director of staffing for University of New Mexico Hospital

Conclusion 

Aya’s proactive staffing solutions and innovative technology provided UNMH with the tools to navigate one of its most challenging periods. For any organization facing similar staffing challenges, Aya offers the perfect blend of technology and human touch to drive meaningful change and ensure operational success.