The National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations (NATHO) is a non-profit association of travel healthcare organizations, founded in 2008 to promote ethical business practices, offer educational opportunities, create a space for advocation, and set the gold standard for conduct in the travel healthcare industry.
The NATHO members that help to set that gold standard are made up of bright and talented individuals that we are excited to highlight in the NATHO spotlight. This month’s spotlight focuses on Aya Healthcare. Aya Healthcare is the largest travel nurse provider in North America and is the only company to develop tech-enabled healthcare labor marketplaces at scale connecting thousands of clinicians and healthcare organizations on one digital platform.
Some of the individuals behind the massive success of Aya include Amber Zeeb, VP of Employee Experience, Chrystal Fugett, VP of Recruitment, and April Hansen, Group President of Workforce Solutions. We sat down with these hard-working women and asked them about some of the keys to their success.
When asked how they defined success, the overarching response was innovation and happy employees. These last 16+ months have transformed not just Aya, but the world. The Aya team had to pivot countless times to keep up with the changing demands of healthcare and the staffing industry while still ensuring superior service to clinicians and clients. While innovation keeps the company running, happy employees are the source of that innovation. Aya believes if you have a base of happy employees, success is likely to follow. Happiness leads to engagement, motivation, and loyalty.
Throughout a tumultuous year in the industry and the constant change that has become normal, the Aya team cited their colleagues as their biggest inspirations. “I’m inspired daily by my colleagues. Each one brings something different to the table and looks at any given situation through a unique lens. This diversity of ideas from across the organization means that Aya continues to come up with new and innovative ways to transform our business and, in turn, continue to improve the level of service we provide to our clinicians and clients”, shares one team member.
The pandemic has proved to be a defining moment for both Aya and its staff. When asked about their proudest moment working at Aya, one member stated, “Probably New York in round 1 of the Pandemic. Everything I thought I was proud of, faded away after those few months and this is all I remember now when asked this question. Feeling the sheer anxiety and devastation that was coming from our contacts in NYC was almost crippling. I remember I had this “ah ha” moment after getting off a call with this major hospital in New York that we have loved and cherished for years and thinking… “If Aya doesn’t step up and do this, who is going to?” After the initial shock of the insane number of orders, now we had to dig deep and figure out how to get thousands of clinicians to NYC during a time that PPE was limited, there were still so many unknowns about the novel virus, and dozens of other factors were against us. We buckled down, fortified our minds knowing the task at hand and found ways to innovate and execute quickly. Since that point, my proudest moment has been every day. Our teams have NOT STOPPED. After months and months of telling them, “We’re almost through this,” we are still in the midst of the highest staffing volume we’ve ever seen. My proudest moments at Aya will always be what this organization and individuals have done during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s been truly remarkable to witness firsthand.”
As the industry and Aya continue to take what comes their way, one thing is clear, a team of dedicated staff members can come together and make what seems impossible, possible.
Meet our other members over on our members page and if you are already a member and want to see your company highlighted next, reach out to info@natho.org.
