As America pays tribute to its workforce on Labor Day, we wanted to thank our clinical and corporate team members for sharing their talents with us. In celebration of your hard work, please take some time today to reconnect with the people who matter to you. That’s the ultimate reason why we all work so hard.

The U.S. economy continues to steadily expand, having created 156,000 new jobs during the month of August according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Report. Healthcare remains an economic bright spot, having contributed 20,200 jobs last month. Of the growth, 6,400 jobs were added within hospitals and another 11,000 were created in the ambulatory care setting. Overall healthcare has grown by more than 328,000 jobs over the year.     

We would like to thank the hundreds of nurses who have already been deployed to help the people in the South Texas region! We would also like to recognize all of the HealthTrust team members who have driven countless miles over the last few days to get these nurses to where they are needed most.

While there are many nurses already in place, the need for medical care is still great. We are in urgent need of critical care, NICU, and labor & delivery nurses.

In any disaster, there are critical healthcare needs that must be addressed. Registered nurses and other medical professionals consistently demonstrate their selfless dedication to improving the lives of others by answering the call to serve when crisis situations arise.

HealthTrust Workforce Solutions is looking for healthcare professionals who would like to be part of our Disaster Response Team. Our Disaster Response Team members will be deployed to our parent company HCA's healthcare facilities within regions in the United States that have recently experienced devastation, such as in the aftermath of a hurricane.

As the new school year commences, our team members shared photos from their children's first day of school. Check out their back-to-school smiles!

Our corporate team members in South Florida saw an eclipse of about 80 percent of the sun on Monday, August 21. In addition to wearing protective eye wear, our staffers each received a chocolate Moon Pie to mark the occasion.

August 14 – 18 is National Locum Tenens Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of physicians who provide temporary relief for healthcare facilities nationwide.

With many children across the country going back to school this month, parents know that transitioning into the school routine can be difficult for children. From changing schools to making new friends, children can experience anxiety about going to class, especially at the beginning of the year.

Good news for nurses: Specialty nurses are earning more money than some doctors early in their careers, while also incurring less student loan debt.

Matthew Rickmon, RN is our next clinical HealthTrust Hero! Matthew began his career with HealthTrust in the StaRN program as a learner and now works for HCA’s LewisGale Regional Health System in Virginia. Most recently, he earned the distinction of “Rookie RN of the Year” in HCA’s Southwest Virginia market.

“The skills practiced in StaRN were quite beneficial, many of which were hands-on experiences that were not encountered too often in school/clinicals,” Matthew says. “I believe StaRN is a major contributor to the rate that I have been able to pick up on skills, knowledge, and overall confidence in the real world of nursing.”