Despite tight market, Washoe staffs center

Despite a tight labor market in key medical specialities, aggressive national and local recruiting efforts led to a full staff at the new Washoe Medical Center South Meadows.

The center's 350 staff positions were filled when the south-Reno hospital opened in February, and only a handful of the center's employees have come from elsewhere in Washoe Health System.

Alan Olive, administrator of Washoe Medical Center South Meadows, said executives were concerned about their ability to fill positions for nurses, MRI technicians, laboratory scientists and pharmacists.

Washoe's nationwide recruiting efforts emphasized the quality of life in northern Nevada.

A recruiting ad in a pharmacy publication, for instance, read: "What's your higher calling? Step up to Washoe Medical Center, an inspired new base camp of talent and technology situated in that wild wonderplace known as Reno/Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

No state income tax, no crowding, no suburban sprawl ..."

The national advertising drew nurses and other professionals from Florida, New England, the Midwest and elsewhere in the nation.

Along with the area's quality of life, the recruiting efforts emphasized the chance to build a new hospital from scratch.

That, Olive said, proved to be a strong draw for some professionals.

Locally, the South Meadows hospital participated in job fairs with other units of Washoe Health System.

Olive said hospital officials were surprised to find a number of out-of-towners attended the job fairs which were targeted mostly at northern Nevada residents.

Although a fair small number of staff members at the new hospital transferred from elsewhere in Washoe Health System, Olive said they played key roles in getting the facility open.

"They provided continuity and knowledge of the system," he said.

In addition, Olive said the transferring employees helped assure physicians who liked to see familiar faces and provide leadership for the many new employees.

Diane Bates, who handles human resources for Washoe Medical Center South Meadows, said recruiters learned that they couldn't rely solely on newspaper help-wanted advertising.

Instead, she said, they combined newspaper recruiting with advertising in trade publications and Web sites that target medical professionals.