Dive Brief:

• Louisiana-based Ochsner Health is launching a pilot program to bring Ukrainian nurses to the U.S. to work for its hospitals, according to a Friday release.
• In the first phase, the system will offer eight nurses employment and assist them and their families in getting acclimated to their new communities. Nurses will be committed to their roles for at least two years.
• The program comes from a partnership with healthcare immigration organization CGFNS International, and Ochsner is a founding partner and the first U.S. hospital system to take part in it.

Dive Insight:

The move comes as health systems across the country continue to face staffing shortages and other workforce challenges driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the program, CGFNS will restore credentials for Ukrainian nurses who want to migrate to the U.S. — giving special attention to those fleeing war or persecution, according to the release.

Ochsner Health has 40 hospitals and more than 300 other facilities across Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South, and is the first system to commit to what CGFNS calls its Passport2Liberty initiative.

Catholic Health Association of the United States will also be participating in the pilot.

The first eight nurses are expected to start their roles at Ochsner in the fall.

“I’m grateful that we are able to sponsor nurses from the country of Ukraine and hope that they can heal and find joy in their work here at Ochsner,” Chief Nursing Officer Tracey Moffatt said in the release.

“Nurses have a legacy of bravery and strength in the most difficult times, starting when Florence Nightingale brought nurses to aid soldiers in the Crimean War. We welcome these brave nurses and their families into our community,” she said.