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Three years after the pandemic upended the health care workforce, hospital staffing is still a top concern for hospital administrators.

Hospitals and nursing homes are competing for nurses after strikes across the country showed an empowered cadre of nurses fed up with high provider-to-patient ratios and stagnant wages. Meanwhile, health systems are navigating a dramatically altered workforce, as many nurses left behind full-time hospital roles for short-term contract and remote positions. Advocates for staffing reform are also appealing to universities and federal and state agencies to help add more providers to the workforce through better training, strategic placement in underserved communities, and more.

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The situation has paved the way for a spate of new startups promising to use technology to help health systems with staffing — a pitch that has helped the companies raise billions. Some deploy a mix of human and tech support to help clinicians navigate the often opaque, frustrating world of hiring and scheduling.

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