‘Help wanted’ for the MD set
Cry out “Is there a doctor in the house?” at your nearest hospital and the answer may very well be no or at the very least, yes, but they”™re busy.
Across the nation, there”™s a desperate need for doctors, nurses and medical specialists. And with the Affordable Care Act the demand for health care providers will be even greater. Millions of people, who previously didn”™t have access to health care, will be scheduling appointments and seeking care.
For Teed & Co. in Norwalk, this means growth. A national physician recruitment agency, the firm places about 80 physicians and health providers a year. In the next three to five years, owner Shawn Teed hopes to double that number.
“Millions will have access to health care, where in the past it was unavailable,” Teed said. “I expect they”™ll take full advantage of that.”
“As long as the market continues the demand for providers, we”™ll do our best to position ourselves to assist hospitals and medical offices with their particular needs,” he added.
Just over a year ago, the firm tripled its footprint by moving into the old offices of Kayak Software Corp. in Norwalk and has since hired about eight new employees. Acting on a conscious effort to grow the company, it has bought all new phone systems and computers, as well.
Teed started the company in 2000 after his employer, Weatherby Heathcare, sold to a competing recruitment firm. Ready for a change and a “better work environment,” Teed said he decided to strike out on his own and build something new.
Now with the onslaught of changes in the health care industry, the company is ready for a rapid expansion, said Andrea Light, Teed”™s chief operating officer.
“There”™s a crisis in the health care industry,” Light said. “Recruiting is a high-end tool for advertising to get physicians to join a hospital or group. They have a lot of problems finding the right providers.”
Some doctors might not keep up on their licenses or credentials, while others don”™t have the best customer service skills or can”™t keep up with the number of patients they need to see in an hour, Light said. Weeding out the weaker applicants, Teed will try to match physicians with where they want to work and what they want to do. Most of the placements Teed makes are the result of cold calling practicing providers or resident medical students. They also keep an active online presence, do mailings and attend medical conferences.
Light estimated there are roughly 800,000 practicing doctors alone, on top of all the graduating medical students, nurses and other medical providers the firm could reach out to.
“There”™s more than enough work to expand our staff,” Light said. “It”™s limitless to us.”