With a steadily growing number of baby boomers reaching their sixties each year, the United States is facing a shortage of registered nurses to care for our seniors.  The American Association of Nursing Colleges reports the national vacancy rate for R.N. positions at 8.5 percent. A University of Illinois study expects that “the ratio of potential caregivers to the people most likely to need care, the elderly population, will decrease by 40% between 2010 and 2030.”

Aware of the increasing problem within their industry, Kissito Healthcare is taking action now to deal with the shortage.  “Instead of watching our R.N. to resident ratio fall, we are developing programs to provide new avenues to staff our homes,” said Vice President of Corporate Projects Ann Maher.

One such initiative is Kissito’s Visa Sponsorship Program, for which Maher runs recruiting efforts in the Philippines.

The program is a win-win for the company and their recruits. Kissito is able to introduce diverse, committed, academically accomplished (only nurses with a Bachelor’s degree qualify for a U.S. visa) new staff to their team, and in exchange they provide a thorough training and certification program and assistance in all facets of their new team members’ relocation.

Relocation by itself can be a struggle, and with the added tasks of dealing with immigration bureaucracies and achieving professional certification in an unfamiliar country, foreign workers are often hesitant about moving overseas, despite strong desires to do so. 

To encourage the move to the U.S., Kissito provides its foreign recruits, at no extra expense, with immigration attorneys to work through all paperwork quickly and efficiently, as well as takes financial responsibility for relocation and visa-related expenses.

When nurses arrive in the U.S. to work for Kissito, they participate in a 3-month preceptorship at Palm View Rehabilitation and Care Center, a Kissito home in Yuma, Ariz.  During this time, they become well-versed in state, federal and companywide rules and regulations, while easing into U.S. living.  Kissito provides housing for the team members and their families during the preceptorship.

During the preceptorship, Kissito financially backs and assists recruits with preparation for English language tests and state and federal nursing exams, including the National Clinical Exam, as well as licensing within Arizona and the state the nurse transfers to. 

Palm View Rehabilitation and Care Center is currently hosting and training two Filipino R.N.s.  Mary Josephine Famorca and Rosalia Florence Benicta have both achieved Masters in Nursing and are excited about taking their careers to new heights with Kissito Healthcare.

The success of the program thus far has led Kissito Healthcare to set up a Philippines job fair, which will be held in Manila in September.  After advertising the fair in the Manila Bulletin, Maher will be setting appointments with pre-qualified R.N., physical therapist and occupational therapist job candidates. 

Maher and her team hope to fill 20 nursing and six therapy positions for their next preceptorships.  Nurses will continue to train at Palm View, and the therapists’ program will take place at The Brian Center of Alleghany, Kissito’s home in Low Moor, Va.  If you are a Filipino registered nurse or physical or occupational therapist interested in participating in Kissito’s job fair, contact resumes@kissito.com.

With the inception of its Visa Sponsorship Program, Kissito is filling a current staffing need as well as creatively forward-planning for 2010 and beyond.