New York City-based Swift Shift is utilizing technology to help home healthcare agencies address problems in nursing and caregiver recruitment.
In a phone interview, company founder and CEO Assaf Shalvi explained the impetus for the startup.
“I saw the acute need in the home care and home health sector for more employees and the increasing gap between demand and supply,” he said.
He added that there’s a specific need for younger talent in the industry, given the number of baby boomers who will soon be retiring.
Thus, Swift Shift was born.
The startup’s platform works like this: A home care nurse or caregiver can download the app. After uploading proper certification, he or she can create a list of open shifts based on individual preferences (including time of day, duration, location and driving distance).
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The nurse can then apply for those shifts, and the home health agency can review the application and view the nurse’s profile. If a nurse is already working for said agency, he or she can be assigned to a shift immediately. If not, the nurse can be invited to interview.
“Swift Shift provides a place for you as a nurse or caregiver to look at work for any area and really to pick and choose the cases that match your hours,” Shalvi said.
From the agency perspective, the platform gives organizations a way other than job boards to generate interest in their cases. Shalvi also noted that Swift Shift only charges agencies if the nurse ends up working for them.
“[Agencies] can have people who are interested, rather than leaving voicemails to people they’re cold calling,” he said.
Currently, the New York City company counts organizations like Bayada Home Health Care, Aveanna Healthcare, Epic Health Services and Interim Healthcare among its clients.
This week, the startup launched a new solution: Boost, which serves as a recruitment tool.
“We thought, ‘There must be a better way to hire people into these companies,'” Shalvi said. “We built Boost, which is a way for home health companies to engage their inactive nurses and caregivers and target them with the visits that match their location.”
Using Boost, home health agencies can send interview invitations, approve nurses and assign shifts. They can also utilize the platform to increase the visibility of certain shifts.
Shalvi said the solution will initially launch with Swift Shift’s clients in the Philadelphia area, but hopes to later expand to more cities across the United States.
Photo: Boarding1Now, Getty Images
