Our pool of amazing health care professionals has now topped the 225 mark and we are covering hundreds of shifts a month in over a dozen LTC facilities…eeek!  I can’t help but feel both excited and frightened at the same time.  I was very ‘green’ when I launched Plan A just over 4 years ago and I’ve been on a roller-coaster ride ever since.  We’ve seen exponential growth and have turned my initial business plan into a successful and sustainable model.  At the same time we have had our own struggles—too many to count—as we’ve learned more about the challenges in our industry, focus on solutions that bring efficiencies and effectiveness to our vision and endure unique growing pains every single week.  It’s chaotic!

Plan A Health Care Staffing Solutions Inc. exists to service our local and neighbouring Long Term Care (LTC) facilities.  The nursing shortage in Northern Ontario is a chronic problem for this sector and being adequately staffed for the vulnerable population that lives in these homes is critical.  I learned firsthand through my own experience as a nurse that circumstances become volatile when there are not enough people to care for others. The Long Term Care sector needs to have access to nurses and health care professionals that are competent to deal with multiple challenges.  We use a ‘borrow’ and ‘lend’ model that involves a lot of inspiration, perspiration and reputation!  I am always amazed at how our health care professionals have eagerly prepared themselves to respond to our call to action!

We aim to cover 90-95% of our shift requests but some months the inevitability is that the tsunami catches  up.  When that happens we boost our recruitment efforts, work with our clients to bring a sharper focus to the solutions, connect with organizations such as NORCAT/The Innovation Mill for ideas and aim to simplify our processes for improved scalability.

‘People, partnerships and technology’ is our recipe for a sustainable future.   We got  ‘the A team’:  our amazing pool of health care professionals and the self-motivated and solution-focused employees  in our office.  We’ve got StaffStat: our brilliant solution to calling down the list.  We’re now focused on partnerships – allies and associates, collaborations and supporters — people who share our vision of only the best for our aging populations.

It’s a never ending race for solutions…and I LOVE it!!  With the good and the bad comes a road map unlike any other.  Our road map tells us that as long as we’re continually seeking out solutions that improve the lives of both our aging population and the people that care for them then we’re surely paving the right path.