Health systems like Henry Ford look overseas to Philippines to fill nursing shortage

FOX 2 - A Henry Ford Hospital nurse says she’s been a dedicated employee for over 25 years - and has never seen a staff shortage in Detroit and across the country like she is now.

"The work level has increased," she said. "It’s very stressful. And then you go home and you feel like he just didn’t do enough anymore. It is very taxing."

The RN says she is relieved to know that Henry Ford is doing all it can to bring more nurses on staff including looking overseas.

Henry Ford tells FOX  2 recruitment efforts are underway, including working with local and state-wide university partners, to build a pipeline of new candidates entering the workforce. It is also extending its long-established recruitment of nurses from Canada and continuing to offer market-competitive wages and benefits.

But this week at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, Henry Ford’s chief executive Wright Lassiter III announced it would redeploy its international strategy to recruit nurses from the Philippines.

"It’s all about the patient," said the nurse who did not want to be identified. "So for Henry Ford to take a stand and do whatever they can, I’m really proud to say I work at Henry Ford Hospital and that they’re doing this."

Henry Ford is not the only metro Detroit hospital looking for qualified nurses overseas

In a statement Beaumont Health told FOX 2:

"Beaumont, like most other major healthcare systems, is pursuing any and all options to bring high-quality nurses into our system to provide compassionate, extraordinary care. Yes, some of those nurses we are working to recruit, currently reside in other countries."

Henry Ford Hospital said the international recruitment process can be long, but it did file its initial applications with the hope of having the first group of approximately 100 recruited nurses from the Philippines here within a year.

"The training in the Philippines is very similar to the US and that’s why they choose to bring the nurses from the Philippines," the nurse said. "So it works out well."

But as hospitals work to find nurses, can the wait continue for international nurses to arrive on US soil?

"Right now we are holding our own, we’re doing well," she said. "And hopefully we won’t see another surge before then. That’s what I’m hoping for."

The full statement from Henry Ford is below:

"We have an aggressive short- and long-term recruitment strategy in place to navigate the ongoing national nursing shortage. Key efforts include working with our local and statewide university partners to build a pipeline of new candidates entering the workforce; deepening our long-established recruitment of nurses from Canada; and continuing to offer market-competitive wages and benefits, along with increased flexibility in scheduling and other options.

"To bolster our efforts, we have also redeployed our long-standing international strategy to recruit nurses from the Philippines. Similar recruitment efforts in the 1980s and 2000s were very successful, with many nurses from the Philippines enjoying wonderful, long-standing careers with our Henry Ford family. While the process can be lengthy, we have filed our initial applications with the hope of having the first group of approximately 100 recruited nurses here within a year." 

– Bob Riney, President, Healthcare Operations and Chief Operating Officer