With the global need for more healthcare workers, medical staffing business in the Philippines is expected to stay robust not just for the US market but also for other countries.
In an email interview with Marivic “Vicky” Doctor, president of Health Carousel Philippines, the leader in ethical and sustainable healthcare staffing in the country said they are seeing strong demand of Filipino workers for the US.
“We’re seeing huge demand for healthcare professionals in the US,” said Doctor. She cited the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), which stated that the US healthcare system will need around 200,000 nurses per year, until 2026. Similarly, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that qualified nurses will be more needed than other professions in the coming decade.
Doctor said the Philippines has been one of the leading providers of healthcare workers to the US and many other countries, and has been recognized globally for this unique contribution.
”The local industry has been thriving over the years, and we project continued growth on the horizon,” she noted.
Doctor did not divulge figures but said that since the beginning of its operations in the country in 2001, the company then known as Global Scholarship Alliance has already deployed thousands of healthcare workers in the US. Its US-based affiliate started operations in 2004.
Already, Health Carousel has ramped-up efforts to form partnerships with more hospitals and nursing schools to elevate nursing in the country. “We see this as integral in all our efforts moving forward as the healthcare/ medical staffing industry is in a unique position to foster long-term growth in the healthcare industries of countries who outsource labor, and countries that receive them,” she said.
Since then also, Health Carousel has advocated for ethical, sustainable healthcare staffing and recruitment. In fact, it has been approved as a Certified Ethical Recruitment Firm in the recruitment of foreign-educated health professionals by the Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices, a division of CGFNS International, Inc.
Doctor explained that ethical and sustainable healthcare staffing is simply the right thing to do. He said that doing the right thing is one of its company values and it is core to its purpose to improve lives and make healthcare work better.
“While there are issues attached to this industry, we’ve always believed in being an agent of change to ease the effects of these realities, or work towards inspiring other players in the recruitment industry to follow suit,” she said.
For example, Doctor said, addressing illegal recruitment and unfair labor conditions entails strict compliance with laws from both country of origin and country of work. With that Health Carousel implemented some protocols in adherence to transparency and ethical recruitment.
It is also the lone Philippine Overseas Employment Administration-accredited agency with the PassportUSA program.
PassportUSA is operated by Health Carousel, LLC, which is one of the largest healthcare staffing companies in the United States. For the last 16 years, the company has created fulfilling careers for US-based nurses through ensuring that thehighest ethical standards are applied to make healthcare work better for both caregivers and patients.
“Our partnership with them ensures that we properly guide applicants throughout every step of their journey. These are manifested in best practices we employ such as ensuring transparency and fairness and contracting, offloading recruitment costs from our applicants, assuring fair compensation, and helping them ease-in with non-discriminatory work environments,” she said.