This staffing platform launched a new tool to help nurses in the fight against COVID-19

In a post-pandemic world, nurses are going to need more tools and resources than ever to keep up with the demands of their profession. Nurse staffing firm IntelyCare is offering new and innovative ways to support them.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in over 25 states are facing massive nurse shortages, forcing them to request the help of nurses from other states in an effort to control their rising case numbers, according to the industry’s trade association. But the process of moving a nurse from one institution to another often takes months, time some patients just don’t have.

IntelyCare launched their IntelyCare Credential Passport to streamline the credentialing process, the leading cause behind nurses’ stunted mobility. The free tool is available through the company’s app and allows nursing professionals to have all of their documentation in one accessible location, to quickly locate and ensure the validity of their career documentation as needed.

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“The credentialing process can take up to three months,” says IntelyCare’s chief clinical officer and registered nurse, Rebecca Love. “With this passport it can shorten the process from months to days — and when people’s lives are on the line, days matter.”

Before stepping foot in a new hospital, nursing professionals have to present over two dozen documents — including their work license, a mandatory Tuberculosis test, a physical exam, their CPR certification, COVID vaccination documentation, I-9 verification and state-specific documents. To work for agencies like IntelyCare, there are 51 credential checkpoints alone.

The increased demand for nurses has only exacerbated the problem that existed long before the pandemic, Love says.

“Nobody knows how to manage this workforce right now,” she says. “And I’ve never seen it as bad as it is.”

With hospitalization rates on the rise and the number of nurses anticipated to drop, despite the increased demand for their services, nursing professionals are already facing an uphill battle. The passport enables nurses to submit one single PDF document to hospitals containing all of the basic requirements most hospitals share, making it easier for nurses and HR departments alike.

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“This takes away that constant thoughts of ‘When did I do it? Where is it? How have I stored it?’” Love says. “We wanted to take that pressure and that burden off the nurse.”

IntelyCare also made it so that nurses can use the tool even if they’re looking to be credentialed out of the platform’s network. Love says the platform didn’t want to just create a standard for their own nurses, but nurses everywhere.

“If they want to take their credentials and go apply somewhere else or work in another capacity at another facility who needs them, we don't want credentialing to be another barrier to have the nursing workforce accessible to those who need to hire them,” Love says. “The reality is that we want to make the lives of nurses better.”