January 23, 2017 – One Greater Lehigh Valley staffing firm has found its health care niche, extending its culture from its office to hospitals and medical facilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and beyond.
Allied Resources Medical Staffing has spent the last seven years creating and managing a portfolio that has reached more than 400 medical professionals.
A privately held business with 27 employees, it has a bustling enterprise based in Lower Macungie Township and has the backing of nearly every hospital in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“We are the leading health care staffing company in Pennsylvania,” said Jennifer Dietz, director of operations for Allied Resources. “We have a relationship with 95 percent of the hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “Our territory is technically the entire United States. If one of our nurses wants to travel to any other state, we can make that happen for them. Our tag line is, ‘Where do you want to go?’ because we don’t limit our nurses.”
Allied Resources Medical Staffing, a division of Allied Resources Staffing Solutions in Exton, provides registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants and allied health professionals to hos-pitals, health networks, long-term care facilities, acute care facilities and medical offices through contract, per diem and direct hire positions.
Allied Resources was founded in 2010 by Dennis Zatlin and Hope Bender. The business partners met while Zatlin, who runs Allied Resources Staffing’s office in Exton, was building his staffing companies.
Bender was in the medical staffing industry for nine years at that point. She said that the duo recognized a big opportunity to provide medical staffing in the Lehigh Valley, where health care is a leading industry.
“ARMStaffing has had very consistent growth since its inception. The health care field is growing and will continue to grow in coming years,” said Bender, vice president of the company.
“We have survived by providing exceptional service and developing relationships with our clients and team. Our nurses work with us because we consider them family.”
ACCREDITATION
Allied Resources had an eventful year in 2015, moving its offices into a larger space in the same building on Liberty Lane. The company moved to the lower level of the complex to accommodate its expanding workforce.
Shortly after the move, Allied went through a site survey of its medical staff by The Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits health care organizations. Allied received the commission’s Gold Seal of Approval in staffing.
Bender and Dietz said the firm’s placement process is based on Joint Commission standards, and all potential medical professionals booked through Allied’s office must go through reference checks, regular performance evaluations, skills checklists and core competency exams on an annual basis.
“By keeping our staff current, we can place a new RN on a new contract with-in seven business days, but our current staff can work immediately in a per diem capacity based on our clients’ credentialing checklist requirements,” Bender said.
CONTRACT and PER DIEM WORK
Allied Resources finds a lot of its staff through word-of-mouth, by a friend or member of the Allied team and through social media. Facebook and LinkedIn are two top sites where prospective staffers can be discovered and placed in a job posted by Allied.
“Having [Joint Commission] accreditation is not a requirement, but all hospitals are Joint Commission certified and may not work with a staffing agency that does not meet the same standards,” Bender said.
With an aging population, the demand for quality contract and per diem staff has increased. This was not the case eight to 10 years ago, according to Bender and Dietz.
Dietz said that a decade ago it was commonplace to get calls to fill a nursing shift at the last minute. Today it is more contract staffing. The continuity of care, and jobs offer more stability. Our staff generally knows where they are going for a specified amount of time,” Dietz said. “It used to be that a call came in for a position on an as-needed basis. So there has been that shift.”
EXTENSION OF HR DEPARTMENT
St. Luke’s Physician Group, vice president Joe Minahan said St. Luke’s has been using Allied for several years. “By using the team at Allied Resources Medical Staffing, we’ve been able to efficiently grow our complement of support staff, which in turn enhances our ability to care for patients,” Minahan said. “We have an unwavering commitment to provide an excellent experience for our patients and [Allied Resources] supports this mission.”
Dietz said clients such as St. Luke’s realize that Allied is an extension of their human resource departments. The trend of outside sourcing is embraced by the industry and can identify the best possible medical staffers.
“The flexibility we offer helps our clients meet the census changes they face daily,” Dietz said, adding that the firm expects to continue its same, steady pattern of growth. “Our internal team will grow, as we are always hiring recruiters with proven track records in the medical field.”
ALLIED RESOURCES MEDICAL STAFFING
What: Health care staffing firm
Location: Liberty Lane, Lower Macungie Township.
No. of employees: 27.
Website: www.armstaffing.com.
