Central Florida hospitals see shift in demand for travel nurses
Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
Orlando hospitals have seen the demand for travel nurses drop dramatically in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic.
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For example, during the height of the pandemic that first hit the region in 2020, Altamonte Springs-based AdventHealth hired more than 1,200 travel nurses in Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties. Those are registered nurses who sign up with independent staffing agencies and travel to other parts of the U.S. or abroad to provide nursing care temporarily at hospitals, clinics and other facilities, in exchange for higher wages, temporary housing and travel costs.
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However, the nonprofit health system now is down to 18 travel nurses in the Central Florida area. Cathy Stankiewicz, chief nursing officer of AdventHealth’s hospitals in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, said the move has been intentional to be more reliant on nurses who are based in the community, while still having some travelers on staff.
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