Last updated January 19, 2025
Summary
When Hillcrest South lost both its operating room (OR) manager and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), the hospital turned to Surgical Directions for interim leadership to stabilize operations. Rather than rushing to fill the roles permanently, the hospital strategically brought in five interim OR professionals, including a new OR manager, educator, and sterile processing director. This ensured continuity in OR operations, preserving profitability and functionality. Surgical Directions’ national network provided experienced candidates to manage the transition, allowing Hillcrest South the necessary time to hire the right full-time staff, turning a leadership gap into an opportunity to strengthen the OR team.
Overview
- A 180-bed Short-term Acute Care Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- By efficiently placing qualified interim candidates in their OR, we gave Hillcrest Hospital South the time and continuity it needed.
Situation
Simultaneous departure of two key OR leaders
Most OR directors keep their roles for only two to five years, and other key OR positions experience frequent turnover as well. This pace of change can wreak havoc in a hospital OR. So when Hillcrest South lost both an OR manager and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), hospital leadership turned to Surgical Directions for help.
Strategy
Efficiently place experienced interim candidates in the key roles until full-time hires can be properly sourced.
Hospitals rely on OR services for a significant part of their annual revenue. Losing two strong team members at once can be financially disruptive to a hospital of any size.
Rather than rush to hire full-time employees right away, leadership at Hillcrest South wisely decided to quickly find interim placements while taking their time to find the right full-time professionals. With access to a national network of seasoned OR professionals, Surgical Directions was the natural choice for Hillcrest South when they needed to fill the vacant roles with interim placements.
During the transition, Hillcrest South also chose to augment their OR staff by adding an OR manager, OR educator, and sterile processing director (SPD). What had been a loss of two strong team members became the opportunity to strengthen the OR team.
The goal was to fill all five roles with interim placements. Interim team members provided the continuity that the OR department required, while giving the hospital time to find the permanent hires they needed.
Results
Filling five interim OR positions stabilized the Hillcrest South workforce.
The steadiness of an experienced team allowed the OR group to continue operations in the short-term, keeping the OR team functional and profitable. It also gave Hillcrest South the time required to hire the right full-time staff to fill all the positions for the long-term.
