Of course, she does have a job to do, and it has been getting harder. A lot of people are looking for new professions. Brian Hekman, Cross Country's director of corporate communications, estimates there are about 15,000 travel nurses, nearly twice as many as five years ago. Well over 100 Cross Country travel nurses are working in the Philadelphia area, he said. Medstaff, the Newtown Square-based company that employs Gresham, has placed 75 others here.
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What's causing the growth now, though, is the nursing shortage, agency officials said. Area nurse managers said their first choice was a full-time staff nurse. Travel nurses provide more continuity of care for patients, are more committed to the hospital, and get to know their coworkers better, the managers said. Virtua Health has several travel nurses about to start working in its four New Jersey hospitals. It would hire more if they were available, even though they cost 50 percent to 75 percent more than staff nurses.