At a glance
- Workforce initiatives contributed $48.5 million to the organization’s $100 million financial turnaround.
- A certified medical assistant academy helped reduce open CMA positions from more than 100 to approximately 21.
- Cone Health filled 30 internal travel positions in less than one month.
Table of contents
Healthcare organizations can’t solve workforce challenges by focusing only on permanent hiring, contract clinicians or today’s open positions. They need a plan that brings those pieces together while protecting access to care.
At the 2026 Qualivis Roundtable, Cone Health leaders shared how they’re doing that during the session, Stronger Foundations: Building Workforce Plans That Support Healthy Communities.
The discussion went behind the results to show how Cone Health aligned its teams, expanded workforce options and made difficult labor decisions. Here are the biggest takeaways.
Bring everyone together around one plan
Coming out of the pandemic, Cone Health relied heavily on contract clinicians and needed to rebuild its permanent workforce. Leaders took several approaches:
- Offered retention bonuses to permanent nurses
- Created a systemwide pool that brought in 250 experienced nurses
- Launched an internal travel program
- Recruited international nurses and expanded the use of LPNs and paramedics
- Partnered with Qualivis to manage contract clinicians and lower rates
Nursing, talent acquisition, finance and operations worked together rather than addressing each challenge separately. Qualivis joined those conversations to share hiring trends, review results and suggest ideas that had worked elsewhere.
“The people that can impact the situation and make change are all sitting at the table, and we’re all working towards a shared goal,” said Lecia Marsh, Director of Talent Acquisition at Cone Health
Vi-Anne Antrum, Cone Health’s System-wide Chief Nursing Officer, said the organization’s workforce initiatives, including its redesigned shift incentive process, accounted for $48.5 million of its $100 million financial turnaround in 2023.
Let the numbers challenge what you think you know
Through its partnership with Qualivis, Cone Health uses LotusOne, a workforce management platform that gives the organization a clearer view of its contract workforce and where support is needed. Paired with Cone Health’s internal data, the platform helped leaders see where hiring gaps existed, how long positions remained open and where contract clinicians were being used.
“Sometimes where you think you have trouble in one place, you have it in another. So it’s caused us to pivot when we need to,” said Lecia Marsh.
That visibility helped Cone Health identify long-tenured travel nurses as potential candidates for permanent roles. Leaders then created a more intentional path to permanent employment and established clearer expectations for future assignments.
Create a path from contract to permanent
Reducing long-term reliance on travel nurses required a thoughtful way to help the right nurses see a future with the organization.
Qualivis helped leaders brainstorm their recruitment approach, while Cone Health’s recruitment marketing team developed campaigns around staying, growing and thriving with the organization. The campaigns highlighted benefits such as paid leave, tuition reimbursement and on-site childcare. Cone Health also created a compensation worksheet to help travel nurses understand the salary and benefits available through permanent employment. Together, these efforts gave travel nurses a clearer picture of what joining Cone Health could offer.
Make flexibility part of the plan
Reducing costs didn’t mean forcing clinicians into one way of working. Cone Health offered per diem and weekend options, internal travel positions and eight-hour shifts alongside traditional schedules.
When the organization posted 30 internal travel positions, every one filled in less than a month. The response showed the value of listening to how clinicians want to work and building that flexibility into workforce planning.
Look beyond today’s vacancies
Cone Health worked with local colleges and community organizations to expand clinical training and open new paths into patient care careers.
Its certified medical assistant academy trains new candidates and helps current employees move into clinical roles. The program helped reduce open certified medical assistant positions from more than 100 to approximately 21.
Long-term workforce programs don’t solve every immediate care need. Leaders still have to weigh the cost of contract labor against the consequences of leaving beds closed or delaying care.
Leaders also described applying lessons from nursing to imaging and radiology through student training, cross-training and community college partnerships. These longer-term investments can help Cone Health build the workforce needed to support access to care in the years ahead.
Cone Health’s experience shows that lasting improvement rarely comes from one sweeping initiative. It comes from bringing the right people to the table, trying new approaches and adjusting as needs change. Qualivis brings workforce insight and hands-on support to help healthcare organizations turn separate efforts into one coordinated plan.