Covenant Expands, Hosting RN Recruiting Fair to Fill More Than 80 Positions

Covenant HealthCare is seeking experienced registered nurses to apply for jobs and will be hosting a nursing fair September 17. The recruitment fair is for nurses interested in learning more about the organizational culture and opportunities.

Currently, Covenant has more than 200 jobs available; more than 80 of those positions are in the nursing field. Over the past several decades, Covenant has been expanding services to the community. In 2005, Covenant employed around 4,000 people, 950 of whom were RNs. In 2015, Covenant employs more than 1,100 RNs and more than 4,500 people. Due to growth, job openings at Covenant are available for qualified RNs in a variety of settings including medical/surgical, critical care, cardiac care, emergency care, neuro-trauma, women’s and children’s, pediatrics, orthopaedics, and more. Covenant offers flexible shifts and schedules to RNs who care for a range of patients, newborn to elderly.

The need to hire nurses correlates to the overall growth Covenant has seen across the region, and in part with the newly expanded Emergency Care Center. Heather Singleton, director of the Covenant Emergency Care Center (ECC), says “It was almost an ‘if you build it, they will come’ moment. With our status as a Level II Trauma Center for Adults and Pediatrics and the changes in health care reform, we knew there would be a demand from the community for emergency services. We expected there would be a new population of patients choosing to come to the ECC, but we did not know exactly what to expect.”

Since the ECC renovation in June 2013, the increase in patients served has proved what everyone suspected. From July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, the Covenant Emergency Care Center took care of more than 90,004 patient visits. In 2001, the Covenant Emergency Care Center opened with the anticipation of accommodating roughly 60,000 patient visits per year. Just before the renovation in 2013, the ECC cared for cared for more than 85,000 patient visits.

In every hospital emergency room, a certain amount of patients are so ill that they require hospitalization. “We need staff to care for those patients who require hospitalization, some of whom are critically ill,” says Beth Charlton, vice president and chief nursing officer over patient services at Covenant.

This continued increase in patients even before the flu season begins made Covenant leadership look at how the hospital could continue to handle the amount of patients they were caring for.

Charlton added, “As a team, we looked at many options, and what it came down to was we needed additional space to support the amount patients we care for. Therefore, we will be opening a new 20 bed unit this fall to accommodate our patients.”

“As an organization, we are incredibly conservative and try to keep unnecessary costs low, but we have to do what is safest for our community and our patients,” said Charlton. “We are pleased to be recruiting talented nurses to join our team.”

Nurses interested in learning more about career opportunities at Covenant are welcome to attend the Covenant RN Recruitment Fair Thursday, September 17 from 6 pm to 8:15 pm. Space is limited, so RSVPs are required by calling 989.583.4228 or at http://www.covenanthealthcare.com/Main/RNFair.aspx.

The fair will feature a presentation “The Therapeutic Relationship Effect upon Patient Pain” by Nancy Dole, RN, MSN. 6:00-6:30 registration will take place, with the presentation from 6:30-7:30 pm, followed by a virtual tour and networking from 7:30-8:15 pm. Attendees will receive one complimentary nursing pain contact hour along with refreshments and hors d’oeuvres. Applicants interested in applying for jobs at Covenant can visit http://www.covenanthealthcare.com/Main/careers.aspx.