Client success story: Long-term care coverage during COVID-19

In this blog you’ll read about a real-life scenario where a Regional Dietitian was in a stressful situation and utilized Dietitians On Demand’s nutrition staffing to solve her problem.

About the client’s site:

A community in Goshen, NY with 148 independent living units, 92 of which are occupied; 28 assisted living beds, 17 of which are full; and 40 skilled nursing beds, including 32 occupants.

Summary:

A national foodservice company signed two contracts during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. One with a new client and one, unexpectedly, with Dietitians On Demand. For Regional Dietitian Noel M., RD, CSG, LDN signing on with Dietitians On Demand was one of the best decisions she made. “Honestly, everything was great. You made my life very easy,” Noel said.

The foodservice company was set to start contract food services at a new long-term care facility in mid-April 2020 when their dietitian resigned with no notice. To complicate matters, no per diem dietitians were interested in working during the pandemic or were not able to go to other facilities.

“Normally I would just fill in, but in this instance, I wasn’t able to visit more than one site because of COVID-19 precautions and at the site where I was needed most, I was covering both RD and GM duties. This was a new client and they weren’t going to be happy if we couldn’t meet their demands, plus this was all happening in the midst of a pandemic. It was extremely stressful,” Noel said.

But luckily for Noel, Dietitians On Demand was top-of-mind because she attended continuing education webinars, received emails and followed us on social media.

“True to their marketing, finding coverage with quick, streamlined and professional,” Noel said.

Here’s what Noel loved about the DOD consultant:

Flexibility: When the client decided they wanted the RD at care plan meetings, the DOD consult adjusted her schedule to be there.

Ready-to-work: With very limited training, from day one the DOD consultant knew what needed to be done.

Expertise: Noel gave the consultant dietitian audits to complete in addition to care plans and the usual daily duties. Through those, the DOD consultant identified areas for improvement that were of immediate benefit to the new client site.

The problem: Needing dietitian staffing coverage in a quick turnaround time

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about weird times for many clinical nutrition managers. Staffing situations that are challenging on their own were intensified by so many unknown variables. Noel had a dietitian resign and while she has a roster of per diem dietitians, none were interested in working during the height of the pandemic. On top of the resignation, they had just signed a new client facility.

The solution: Quick, streamlined, professional dietitian staffing services

Because Noel was already engaged with Dietitians On Demand through continuing education webinars, emails and social media, she was familiar with their staffing services and submitted a coverage request.

The foodservice company did not have a national contract in place with Dietitians On Demand prior to her request, but one was quickly put into place and within a few days Regional Account Manager Sarah Heitzman, MS, RD, LD secured coverage for Noel.

“Sarah handled everything,” Noel said.

Noel said she had no reservations. “I felt so comfortable because everything was clearly spelled out in the contract. My time is limited so I appreciate that the onboarding process was streamlined, too. I was very comfortable with Sarah and I knew I could reach out to her if I needed anything,” Noel said.

Results, return on investment & future plans

As this national foodservice company continues to grow, Noel said she’ll continue to utilize Dietitians On Demand’s resources. “I can’t cover everything myself, and I have a lot of accounts that need me,” she said.

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Dietitians On Demand is a nationwide staffing and recruiting company for registered dietitians, specializing in short-term, temporary and permanent-hire positions in acute care, long term care and food service positions. We’re dedicated to dietitians and helping them enhance their practice and excel in the workplace. Check out our job openings, request your coverage, or visit our store today!