published on
March 28, 2023

Florence: a unique solution to Canada's healthcare staffing crisis

WRITTEN BY
Florence
·
posted on
Healthcare organizations

We’re in the middle of an unprecedented global recruitment and retention crisis in healthcare.

According to a recent government report, vacancies in the Canadian healthcare sector alone now top 130,000. Driven away by heavy workloads, inadequate resources and the Covid-19 pandemic, many former healthcare professionals say they’re burned out.

Coupled with a chronic lack of nurses, growing demand for care in Canada puts ever-greater pressure on the country’s healthcare system. Existing staff feel overburdened and stressed, while long wait times erode quality of care for patients.

That’s a huge problem – and it’s one we intend to help fix.

At Florence, we blend tech with friendly, personalized support to help healthcare professionals and facilities work smarter. We’re not just another agency looking to profit from a problem: our mission is to give everyone the care and dignity they deserve.

We’re a fast-growing solution to the staffing crisis, and we’ve worked with more than 90,000 healthcare professionals and more than 4,000 organizations in the UK and France since 2016. In 2022 alone, we filled 385,000 shifts and delivered more than 4 million hours of care.

So, hello Canada. We’re so pleased to be here, and we can’t wait to make a difference.

A Florence worker and a service user sit on a bed smiling at the camera.

Take the stress out of staffing for good

Forget everything you know about agencies – Florence is a new and better way to approach healthcare staffing.

We give facilities, including long-term care homes and hospitals, simple tech to fill shifts more efficiently with your own full-time staff first, maximizing the resources you already have. Agencies don’t do this, because:

  • They don’t have the technology in place.
  • If they empower you, they give up control.

We give you the freedom to fill shifts with people you trust, fast, while saving up to 30% on your typical agency spend.

Meanwhile, we connect healthcare professionals with the right shifts and give them control and flexibility over their working lives. Everybody wins.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Fill shifts with your own staff first. Enjoy fast scheduling with automatic SMS invites, schedule updates and one-tap shift confirmation. This can help you save 30% on typical agency spend.
  2. Send empty shifts to the Florence community. View applicant profiles and pick the right workers from our pool of trusted healthcare professionals.
  3. Enjoy full transparency. Keep profile details handy with Florence so you know who’s on shift every day. No surprises, ever.
  4. Save your favourites. Improve continuity of care by inviting your favourite workers back again, and again.
  5. If you like a worker, hire them. We’re trying to solve the staff crisis, not add to it. If one of our healthcare professionals is a perfect fit for you, offer them a permanent job. We view this as a victory for care – and we won’t charge commission.

You’ll never come across any hidden fees or additional costs with Florence, because we believe in fairness, and we’re here to help make things better.

A group of 5 Florence workers stand in their Florence scrubs smiling at the camera.

How we help healthcare professionals

Fairness at Florence doesn’t stop at the healthcare facility door – we empower nurses and personal support workers, too.

When healthcare professionals sign up with us, they can choose shifts that match their schedules, decide where to work, and track upcoming shifts and payments with the Florence app.

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We believe in care and dignity

With Florence, you can book your own staff automatically, then plug gaps with reliable, highly skilled nurses, personal support workers and other healthcare professionals. 96% of the providers we work with say our system is easy to use and saves them time and money.

We’re on your side. Find out more and book a demo here.

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