DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Halifax Health announced the company may give new hires from a career fair a $10,000 bonus.
Officials said the event will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday and will be named March Madness Nursing Career Fair.
The event will be held on the second-floor terrace of Blue Flame inside The DAYTONA hotel.\
“We are offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus for any R.N.’s who want to come through at Halifax Health within our adult health settings,” said nurse recruiter Lacey Smith.
Halifax Health said it is looking for experienced nurses, new nurses and nursing graduates.
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Fulcher said their recruiting style had to change and they expanded to searching nationally. They’ve hired 163 for the three Halifax locations since October but need more.
“We do need nurses that want to be in medical, surgical adult, neuroscience and those areas,” she said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the U.S. will need 175,000 to 200,000 new nurses every year through 2029 to fill openings.
While many nurses walked away from the job in fear of catching COVID-19, the Halifax Health recruiters said the pandemic has helped others find nursing as their calling.
However, not all were rushing to their local hospitals for work.
“It seems to be a double-edged sword. There’s lots and lots of opportunities for nurses who are willing to travel to take on very lucrative positions,” said Charles Freeman, a nurse recruiter.
Traveling nurses have been filling positions wherever they’re needed across the country for shorter periods of time. Their salaries have been a little higher, too, when COVID-19 hospitalizations were at an all-time high.
“Agency nurses were in high demand. We are hearing that that decline is here now, and we want to bring as many experienced and again graduate nurses to Halifax Health,” Fulcher said.
If you were unable to go to the career fair, Fulcher said Halifax Health will still be accepting applications.