The Hire Connection Client Testimonial

“When you work with THC, you get a company that knows rural community recruiting better than anyone.”

Summary: Avera Holy Family was in need of an FPOB. Dale Hustedt (CEO) knew it was a tall order to find great talent who wanted to move to Estherville, Iowa. When Dale took the CEO position in Estherville, he knew his greatest challenge was to create stability with his physician staff. They had some physicians who were approaching retirement age and he knew there would be a need for succession planning. The hospital knew the importance of sustaining their OB program, and therefore; they needed to make sure there were enough providers for each of them to enjoy a good quality of life. When THC got involved, Dale indicated they had lost one of their FPOBs and he was using Locums to fill in and keep the call coverage intact. Not only was that very expensive, they were losing patients because the community knew it was a temporary physician. There was nothing good that came of using locums, according to Dale. He then decided it was time to outsource his recruiting efforts.

Case Details 

Location: Estherville IA

Service Area: 8000

Physicians On Staff: 6 physicians

Growth Plans: Will need 3 providers over the next few years

Recruitment Method: Used hospital’s in-house corporate recruiter before outsourcing recruiting

Organization, Goals, and Direction

Dale Hustedt is the CEO of Avera Holy Family and has been there for just over 4 ½ years. Dale understood what he was assuming when he accepted that position, and that was to simply create stability among the medical staff. He knew if he could do that, the community would welcome him and support his hospital.

The THC Experience

Dale met Van Allen at the National Rural Health convention and was intrigued and impressed as he learned about Van’s Company. He talked about how some of the large recruiting firms were also present at the same convention—of course, he knew their reputation and what they brought to the table. When Van asked him why, instead of the larger firms, he gravitated toward The Hire Connection, Dale stated, “he felt like THC had more to prove because they were a smaller company and he felt like they would work harder than the others.” When asked what his overall experience was like with THC recruiter Emilie Weston, he indicated she was a treat and always kept him in the loop on everything. Dale loved that he always had direct access to Van, the company owner, and saw he understood rural recruitment better than anyone else. He felt THC brought real value to the table. When asked if they were successful, he said it was unbelievable—THC filled both searches with Dr. Westmoreland and Dr. Waleh, each inside of 6 months. He said that was the part that was most impressive! Of course it helps when you have a CEO who is truly an active partner during the recruiting process.

When asked if he would recommend THC, he said, “absolutely” and a resounding “yes”. He says he always encourages colleagues or whoever needs help with their recruiting efforts, to give THC a shot—“you won’t be disappointed”.