Aug. 18, 2011 — CompHealth traveling physician assistant, Joseph Leone, was recently featured in Healthcare Traveler magazine as a PA with an atypical mobile lifestyle; he accepts different PA jobs, but usually returns to the same facility time and again. That's because he thoroughly enjoys working for the St. Cloud VA Health Care System emergency department in St. Cloud Minn., a client hospital of Salt Lake City-based CompHealth, one of the largest healthcare staffing suppliers to VA medical centers throughout the country.
"When you are happy with your job, you do not go looking elsewhere," says Mr. Leone, adding that his relationships with colleagues keep him coming back. The article "Veterans Aid" , which appeared in the July issue, also addresses a myriad of current trends in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system, as well as other government facilities. Veterans' hospitals are not exempt from the same staffing dilemmas civilian hospitals face, most notably healthcare provider shortages. CompHealth plays an important role in solving these challenges, ensuring that hospital clients are sufficiently staffed to deliver quality patient care.
"Healthcare staffing plays an iatrical part in the wellness of military personnel, veterans, and native Americans across the country," explains Mike Freeman, Manager, Operations for CompHealth. "We are instrumental in delivering critical healthcare services to veterans, particularly service men and women returning injured or wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
CompHealth has been a vender of the government since 1979. It is one of two companies in the country to hold a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), a contract through which federal customers can acquire products and services directly from commercial suppliers. It applies to 114 specialties, 60 of which are physician, 17 nursing specialties, and 37 allied health specialties.
"In all, CompHealth supplies approximately 210 working physician and allied health providers per month between VA medical centers, DoD facilities and Indian Health Centers," explains Jackie Smith, Director, CompHealth locum tenens. Additionally, CompHealth's allied health division has been staffing with the government since 1999, providing physician assistants, nurse practitioners, CRNA, rehab therapists, and nurses.
Having previously served in the military and as a current Air Force Reservist, Mr. Leone also returns to the same facility because it's where he ultimately believes he belongs. "These are my people," he says, "I do feel bonded with the patients because I can relate to some of the things they are going through. It doesn't matter if they served a couple of years ago or a couple of decades ago."
About CompHealth
Founded in 1979, CompHealth is the nation's leading provider of temporary and permanent physician staffing, as well as a leading provider of temporary and permanent allied health staffing. CompHealth prides itself on having the best people to help provide the best healthcare and is also a proud member of the CHG Healthcare Services family of companies, currently ranked No. 27 on FORTUNE magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." To learn more about this award-winning company and its service offerings, visit www.comphealth.com, follow us on Twitter: @comphealth, or "like us" on Facebook.
