Healthcare staffing is a frequent pain point for facility administrators and schedulers. With healthcare costs on the rise, the strain nurse staffing places on facility budgets is a significant concern.
Facilities need healthcare staffing solutions that are cost-effective and adaptable, qualities found in the PRN nurse staffing platform, Nursa.
The state of healthcare in Boulder, Colorado
Healthcare facilities and systems in Boulder are doing a great job.
According to US News and World Report, the city scores high in population health, 82 out of 100. Additionally, the average life expectancy is 82.2 years, compared to the national average of 75.8 years. Only 7.1 percent of the population has no health insurance, compared to the national average of 11.5 percent.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s all resolved.
Boulder faces nurse shortages, rising costs, and low or lagging Medicare reimbursements, further complicated by state and federal standards and regulations.
The current registered nurse (RN) shortage is projected to reach a deficit of 14 percent in Colorado, well above the 10 percent projected for the U.S by 2030, and Boulder suffers a similar undersupply.
This article explores challenging concerns and practical solutions, including nurse staffing companies, per diem staffing platforms, and traditional staffing.
Healthcare staffing challenges in Boulder
Healthcare managers, directors of nursing (DONs), and schedulers across the country struggle with last-minute call outs and seasonal surges in patient census.
Three of the most stressful pain points are:
- Nurse-to-patient ratios: In Colorado, the number of patients per nurse is not mandated, but each facility develops its own policy. Four to five patients per RN in medical-surgical units and one or two patients per RN in intensive care are often considered high-quality and safe nurse-to-patient ratios.
- Regulatory concerns: Even without mandated staffing ratios, Colorado law requires hospitals to meet nurse staffing standards. Facilities often seek waivers due to workforce shortages, creating operational and compliance challenges.
- Staffing costs: Expanded Medicaid coverage increases patient access and revenue, and simultaneously demands more healthcare staff.
Perhaps the most constant challenge in healthcare is balancing staffing costs with the nurse-to-patient ratio needed for high-quality patient care.
Flexible staffing options offer solutions to both internal and external dilemmas.
External factors weighing on Healthcare in Boulder
Besides the issues intrinsically related to healthcare, external issues have an impact on healthcare staffing as well.
Population growth and aging
Boulder County’s population grew about 20 percent from 2000 to 2025, similar to the national population growth. The population is aging, increasing demand for chronic disease management (heart disease, cancer, stroke), and related hospitalizations.
Languages spoken
Around 15 percent of the population speaks a language other than English in the home, mainly Spanish, with lesser numbers speaking Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. This can challenge effective communication in healthcare.
Climate change
Climate change has brought an increase in drought and extreme heat to Boulder.
By 2030, Boulder is expected to have 3-day heatwaves with a maximum average of 101°F, and 28+ days per year over 95°F, compared to 10 days over 95°F from 2018-2022.
The most common effects are heat exhaustion and heat stroke, bringing many more people to the ERs and hospitalization during the hottest periods. The heat also aggravates cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
Boulder is actively addressing this challenge and has won a place on CDP's (Carbon Disclosure Project) prestigious “A list” for meaningful, data-driven climate action.
Which is the right healthcare staffing solution for you?
Traditional healthcare staffing has a hard time keeping up with the changing world. Modern nursing staffing solutions offer a new data-driven approach.
Some questions you may want to consider are:
- How cost-effective is this option?
- Does this solution relieve the administrative burden of staffing?
- How frequently do I have to cover call outs, and how does each option cover the vacancies in time?
- How does this solution ensure quality?
- Does this option help me cover high patient census periods effectively?
Traditional nurse staffing agencies in Boulder, CO, and healthcare staffing platforms all have strengths and weaknesses to take into account, and a combination may be the best option.
The following table briefly mentions some major points regarding time and money.
Healthcare staffing options
Strengths
Weaknesses
Traditional staffing
Proven for long-term
Weeks to months to fill a vacancy
Staffing agencies
Allows facilities to cover planned high census periods without increasing permanent staff and the corresponding overhead costs
Additional fees
Days to weeks to fill
Staffing platforms
Hours to days to fill vacant shifts
Flexible scheduling
Allows facilities to cover census fluctuations and call outs without increasing permanent staff and corresponding costs
Not used directly for long-term staffing
Both staffing agencies and platforms typically work with pre-vetted clinicians, relieve the healthcare managers, DONs, and schedulers of significant administrative burden, and help maintain high-quality care.
The ease of finding PRN nurses in Boulder, CO, to cover vacant shifts helps maintain a healthy nurse-to-patient ratio, prevent burnout, and improve patient outcomes.
Nursa is a national healthcare staffing platform working in Boulder.
How does Nursa help you in Boulder?
Staffing takes time and money and is essential to top-quality care and outcomes. Nursa helps you with all three.
Time
Nursa relieves administrative burden and shortens the process in the following ways:
- Real-time shift posting: Post your vacant shifts and fill vacancies within hours, sometimes minutes.
- Credential verification: Nursa verifies licenses and credentials and runs a background check before allowing a clinician to apply for a shift.
- Auto-scheduling: Compile a list of your Favorite nurses and enable the app to schedule them automatically when they request an open shift.
Money
Cost containment is a primary concern for facilities. Here’s how Nursa can help:
- Price transparency: The facility sets the pay rates.
- Lower overhead costs: PRN nurses are 1099 contractors; as such, they do not receive benefits.
- No recruitment fees: Nursa does not charge any fees or penalties for hiring a nurse found on the platform for a permanent position.
Quality
Quality patient care affects healthcare outcomes. Nursa supports facilities in the following ways:
- Stable nurse-patient ratio: Nursa connects you to the RNs, LPNs, and CNAs you need when you need them.
- Reduced burnout: Permanent staff nurses are relieved of working extra shifts, and PRN nurses choose the shifts they want to work. This reduces pressure and burnout and boosts engagement and wellbeing.
The story of Brookfield Health in Battleground, WA
Brookfield Health and Rehabilitation in Battleground, Washington has around 80 full-time staff members and uses Nursa for on-demand staffing, covering weekend shifts, holidays, and last-minute call outs.
“Finding the right amount of staff is the number one pain point in this job. The need for staffing support is a day-by-day question. Sometimes I don’t know if I need support for tomorrow until 10 p.m. the night before.” - Josh Clark, CEO of Brookfield Health
Clark and the Brookfield team searched for solutions, ultimately looking into options across agency and PRN staffing.
“Agency staffing doesn’t provide an easy-to-access platform where I can easily request and schedule shifts which is why we turned to Nursa.”
What’s your story?
Nursa's on-demand, app-based model is tailored to the medical staffing needs of hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities, to safely cover flu seasons, census highs, and emergency staffing—without the lag time and cost of an agency.
Whether acute, post-acute, per diem, contingent, or crisis response clinician needs, Nursa is a flexible staffing solution.
Have you tried Nursa yet?
It is not exclusive, and you can post a few shifts to see how it works for your facility.
Signing up is easy. Just access the platform and follow a few simple steps.
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