When a Hospital Ends A Travel Nursing Agency Contract
As we’ve mentioned previously, travel nursing companies need to have contracts with hospitals in order to send their travel nurses and other healthcare professionals there for work. These contracts take many forms. But like any contract, they can be voided if the terms are breached. When this happens, travel nurses are often left wondering what will happen to them.
The contracts between hospitals and agencies typically cover every last detail pertaining to the relationship between the two parties. However, only a small number of the covered details have a tendency to strain relations between the two parties.
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One such detail is directly related to the performance of the travel nurses that the agency sends to the hospital. Hospitals are counting on the agency to send them quality nurses. If the agency amasses a consistent track record of sending the hospital people who have attendance issues, inadequate clinical skills, or other disciplinary related issues, then the hospital may choose to cool or even sever relations with the agency.
The Travel Nursing Agency Penalty Box
A typical first step is for the hospital to stop accepting submissions from the agency for a period of time. They suspend the contract in a sense. This is typically an informal step and the agency is notified with a simple email or telephone call.
In this case, nurses who are currently completing travel nursing assignments through that agency typically have nothing to worry about. They can go about their business as usual. However, if the issue escalates to a full blown contract cancellation, then there will be implications for the traveler which we’ll discuss below.
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Issues That Lead to Travel Nursing Agency Contract Cancellations
First, let’s take a look at the issue that typically gets agencies into hot water with their client hospitals, compliance documentation. One of the primary services that agencies provide to hospitals is the credentialing and compliance service. Not only must agencies collect and transmit all of the compliance documentation required by the hospital, they must also internally maintain complete and accurate records for all the travelers they’ve sent to work at the hospital for a specified period of time.
Hospitals have a vested interest in ensuring that agencies are complying with this requirement and they will sometimes conduct audits. If an agency fails one audit, the chances are good that the hospital will simply issue a report detailing the discrepancies, requesting that they be addressed, and informing the agency that there will be a follow up audit. If the agency develops a track record of poor performance on compliance audits, then it runs the risk of the hospital terminating the contract immediately. Again, when contracts are terminated, there are implications for the travel nurse.
The Fallout of Hospitals Cancelling Agency Contracts
The hospital will no longer be required to honor the contracts of the travelers currently working or signed up to work with the hospital through the cancelled agency. However, in most cases, the hospital will give those travel nurses the option to stay on with the hospital.
When this happens, the hospital typically informs the travel nurses via email that the contract with their agency has been cancelled but they are invited to stay on with the hospital through another agency. Typically, a list of all the agencies that the hospital works with is provided. The travelers are instructed to contact the agencies at their soonest convenience to see if they can work out a deal to keep them on assignment.
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While this sounds relatively easy enough, it can actually be a logistical nightmare. You will typically have to repeat many, if not all, of the paperwork and testing requirements for your new agency. The old agency maybe cooperative and transmit paperwork to the new agency, but in many cases they are not willing to do so.
The situation can get even more complicated when company provided housing is involved. You may have to move out of the housing provided by your current agency and into housing provided by the new agency. Moreover, the new agency may experience difficulty finding housing that will accept new tenants for such a short term. For example, if an agency/hospital contract were to be cancelled 4 weeks into a 13 week contract, then the new agency would be looking for an eight to nine week lease. This will be very difficult to come by. Again, the cancelled agency may be willing to work something out with the new agency whereby the new agency will take over the lease on your current apartment.
However, the cancelled agency certainly has an incentive to be uncooperative. Ideally, they would like you to continue working for them. This could be at a different hospital in the same area or in a new area altogether. The bottom line is that the cancelled agency doesn’t want to lose their travel nurses. On the flip-side, the cancelled agency may feel that if they’re cooperative and handle the issue with grace, then their travelers will reward them with future loyalty.
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So what does all of this mean for the travel nurse? First, you should be aware that agency/hospital contracts can and do get cancelled and that these cancellations directly affect your contract to work at the hospital. Second, you should anticipate that you will have to renegotiate new contract terms with a new agency if you choose to stay on with the hospital. Finally, you will need to move quickly in order to get your paperwork in order with the new agency. This is another great reason to maintain a complete set of documents and control your own submission profile.
