FQHC leaders: Do you struggle to recruit and retain providers? Locum tenens support can be an effective solution for your clinical workforce needs.

<h2>How Locums Support Can Help FQHCs Thrive</h2>

 Many federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) struggle to recruit and retain
 permanent providers. Locum tenens support can be an effective solution FQHC
 leaders can rely on to fulfill their clinical workforce needs.

<h2>FQHCs’ Growing Interest in Locums</h2>

 A significant portion of FQHCs now rely on temporary clinical
 support.
 According to the most recently published data, over
 1/3 of FQHCs
 utilized temporary primary care providers, including family
 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, from 2013-2017 (<a
 href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32356936/"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 target="_blank"
 >Han et al., J. Rural Health</a
 >). While more recent FQHC-specific data is not readily available,
 88% of surveyed healthcare facilities
 used locum tenens providers to address high volumes and
 burnout during the pandemic from 2021-2022 (<a
 href="https://revcycleintelligence.com/news/88-of-healthcare-facilities-employed-locum-tenens-providers"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 target="_blank"
 >AMN, Revcycle Intelligence</a
 >). There’s a growing reliance on temporary support throughout the industry.

<h2>
 Challenges FQHCs May Face in Recruiting and Retaining Permanent Providers
</h2>

 Of course, each FQHC’s situation varies. And
 different types of FQHCs – including
 <a
 href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/staffing-challenges-at-community-health-centers?term=rural"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 target="_blank"
 >community health centers</a
 >
 (CHCs), migrant health centers (MHCs), healthcare for the homeless (HCH)
 centers, public housing primary care (PHPC) centers, school-based health
 centers (SBHCs) and tribal health centers – face different issues. However,
 common obstacles emerge that
 keep most FQHCs from recruiting and retaining the optimal clinical
 workforce, including:


<ul>
 <li>
 <a
 href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/attracting-locums-to-rural-areas?term=rural"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 target="_blank"
 >Remote locations</a
 >
 </li>
 <li>Lack of local providers</li>
 <li>Growing patient volume</li>
 <li>High provider workload</li>
 <li>Lack of funding to attract permanent providers</li>
 <li>
 Limited resources to locate, screen, vet, credential, and onboard candidates
 </li>
 <li>
 Patient populations with complex healthcare needs requiring specialized
 expertise
 </li>
 <li>
 Strict regulatory and credentialing requirements, which can limit the
 candidate pool
 </li>
</ul>

<h2>Unique Needs of FQHCs</h2>

 Further, because FQHCs serve a vital and distinctive purpose, they have a
 unique set of needs leaders must consider when making
 workforce decisions:


<ul>
 <li>
 Comprehensive care – Leaders may need to hire across
 several services, including medical, dental, behavioral health and more.
 </li>
 <li>
 Multidisciplinary roles – Centers often need to hire care
 team members across various functions, specialties and skill sets, including
 physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, dentists, behavioral
 health providers, specialists, etc.
 </li>
 <li>
 Cultural competence – FQHCs need providers trained to treat
 patients of various backgrounds. Providers should be patient-, family- and
 community-focused and familiar with socioeconomic barriers to care, health
 disparities, chronic conditions, disease prevention, and complex medical
 needs.
 </li>
 <li>
 Funding requirements – Since centers must meet needs to
 qualify for reimbursement, grants and awards, they must hire carefully and
 consider the impact of a mismatch when seeking permanent providers.
 </li>
</ul>

<h2>How Locum Tenens Can Benefit FQHCs</h2>

 Locum tenens support can be a highly effective workforce solution for the
 staffing challenges FQHCs face and can help center leaders:



 1. Avoid interruptions in care – Fill in with locum tenens
 providers while your permanent providers are out on maternity, sick, family
 medical, vacation, or professional development to ensure your patients have
 access to essential services.


 2. Enhance your patients’ experience – Bringing in support
 can streamline services, ease pressures on permanent providers, and improve
 morale. Working with a trusted locums agency can ensure the locums providers
 you receive are upbeat, well-trained, efficient and effective. Plus, many
 locums are eager to reach underserved patient populations.


 3. Improve wait times – Streamlining services by shortening
 wait times can help promote patient satisfaction and build loyalty. Use locum
 tenens APPs to improve wait times by handling routine and non-urgent visits,
 offering same-day scheduling, and covering follow-ups after in-office
 physician visits.


 4. Support provider wellness – Bringing in locum tenens
 reinforcements gives providers time off to recuperate and enjoy sufficient
 rest breaks and vacation time.


 5. Alleviate daily pressures on permanent providers
 – Besides giving clinicians breaks and vacation time, locums can help
 clinicians with daily stressors by redistributing patient loads. This can
 allow permanent providers more time to handle administrative tasks, electronic
 health records, quality metrics and other responsibilities.


 6. Reduce costs – Having adequate locums support can help
 health centers streamline visits, improving efficiency and allowing providers
 to see more patients. Locums can also allow FQHCs to reduce overtime burdens
 on permanent providers at additional potential cost savings.


 7. Expand telehealth services – Locums support can help
 facilities rapidly ramp up or pare down staff to meet fluctuating demands for
 telehealth services. From balancing out service offerings and rounding out
 clinical staff to expanding the reach and improving health equity, the
 benefits of using locum tenens providers for telehealth abound.


 8. Address physician shortages – Locum tenens support
 contributes to a successful workforce strategy to address the growing
 physician shortage. Although locum tenens providers offer short-term,
 temporary services, they fill a vital niche in a long-term, permanent
 solution.


 9. Meet fluctuating demands – Ramping up services and having
 adequate staff to meet fluctuating patient volumes can be costly. Having an
 effective locums agency as a partner can help facilities meet rapidly changing
 demands efficiently.


 10. Staff hard-to-fill specialties – Organizations may have
 to get creative to find candidates for specialties that are difficult to fill.
 Further, facilities should avoid costly mis-hires. The locum tenens
 arrangement can allow a unique opportunity for facilities and specialists to
 have a temporary test run before deciding whether it’s an ideal permanent
 match.


<h2>Get Locums Support</h2>

 If you’re ready to get locum tenens support for your federally qualified
 health center,
 <a
 href="https://www.crosscountry.com/contact-us"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 target="_blank"
 >connect with a Cross Country representative</a
 >
 now.

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