Raising the Bar in 2022: An Interview with Mr. Pete Dominici
What do you do when an already strapped industry is pushed to new limits? At Epic Specialty Staffing, we decided to show up, more than ever before, at a time when our healthcare partners were experiencing some of the biggest challenges of their careers — even their lives.
Gratitude, determination, and partnerships have helped our organization through some tough times, and this philosophy helped us get through 2021, a year that saw so much flux and demanded a new level of resilience from us all.
We spoke with Mr. Pete Dominici, CFO and Principal at Epic Specialty Staffing, as he shared our collective thoughts and ambitions for 2022.
Recruiting Trends in 2021
Looking back, 2021 has been one of the toughest years from a business standpoint, but since July, we’ve seen a steady reversal and have set new operational records over the last quarter of 2021.
“The first half of 2021 was a lot like the end of 2020,” says Mr. Dominici. “A significant amount of facility realignment of services towards COVID 19 treatment, medical professionals taking time off, and people either not seeking or delaying healthcare diagnostics and treatments due to the emergence of COVID 19 variants.
In July, something clicked. The expanded rollout of vaccinations led to the return of people seeking diagnostics. Plus, more facilities re-opening all service lines released the backlog in healthcare treatment services, including elective surgeries in hospitals and surgery centers and radiation oncology cancer treatments.
“We’re happy to see people come back to seek treatment, and I believe this change has led to a resumption of near-normal demand for hospital and radiation oncology treatment services.
However, what did not return to normal was the availability of healthcare professionals who historically have performed “normal demand” services in both hospitals and radiation oncology treatment centers. This decline in supply has been attributed to a number of COVID 19 related reasons including — leaving the healthcare profession due to personal health-related concerns, vaccination mandates, preference for remote work, and immigration issues. Radiation Oncology treatment services have been especially affected by immigration issues due to the fact a significant number of medical physicists who work under international visas, experienced delays in re-entering the US causing shortages in their field of expertise. Currently, with the uptick in demand for healthcare services and the decline in healthcare professionals performing such services, the demand/supply ratio has tilted heavily to the demand side.
Changes in Hospital Leadership
During the latter half of 2021, we have also seen notable changes from a hospital organization’s perspective.
“Hospitals started seeing a noticeable increase in the number of their employees dropping out of the healthcare system, including our area of specialization in Leadership Services. Many leaders who had been working remotely during the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic were now deciding they didn’t want to come back into healthcare facilities to work when asked to return,” explains Mr. Dominici.
This created leadership vacancies in the hospitals which eliminated remote work once “normal operations” were back in full swing as these leadership vacancies needed to be filled.
Ready and to some degree waiting to help our clients fill these vacancies, Epic Specialty Staffing was positioned for this surge in leadership opportunities due to the fact we continued to stay in contact with our leadership candidates continuously throughout the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic. “During the last six months of 2021, we helped existing clients and new clients fill these critical areas of need and we are poised to continue filling these critical positions in 2022,” says Mr. Dominici.
Goals for 2022
Staying open and returning to the office early during the peak pandemic period was and continues to be paramount to our success, Mr. Dominici outlines.
Holding our people accountable, keeping the lights on, calling our clients every day during the peak of the pandemic just to let them know we’re here and we’re ready to help them was a critical factor in our rapid recovery in the last two quarters of 2021.
“Partnerships with our clients are the core of everything we do at Epic Specialty Staffing,” says Mr. Dominici. “And we are passionate about continuing to provide the highest level of service to our candidates, our clients, and our professional services personnel.”
“We want to make sure our clients and professional servicing personnel think of Epic Specialty Staffing first when they have available positions. Recruiting new, top-of-the-line healthcare talent is our biggest initiative for 2022 and we believe this is a key factor in keeping the momentum going strong. At Epic Specialty Staffing it is paramount to connect the best healthcare talent with the right opportunity— the first time.”
Taking Epic Specialty Staffing Abroad
Despite border closures, the English Language Excellence Program has high hopes to resume in 2022.
“We have state-of-the-art participating Universities and private schools in Morocco, not to mention a roster of qualified American teachers who are ready to hit the ground running and start teaching once the borders reopen,” says Mr. Dominici.
The ELE Program received national press in Morocco through the development of new regional partnerships, another trend we hope to see resume growth in 2022.
Supporting the Government Sector
Epic Specialty Staffing also serves government medical facilities within the Veterans Administration “VA” system. “Although it has been one of our smaller business segments in past years, we are aggressively seeking to grow this line of business in 2022.”
“The government sector was probably hit the hardest by COVID,” says Mr. Dominici. “But we’re excited to reconnect with our government partners in 2022 and explore new opportunities within the sector as the economy returns to a more normal situation.”
“Most certainly there will be a focus in 2022 to expand our footprint in the US market with our established healthcare leadership and radiation oncology divisions leading the way in both the commercial and government sectors.”
Continuing to Serve
In every way, Epic Specialty Staffing’s philosophy embodies the terms “service and support” — for both our medical and military heroes — and in 2022 we will continue to help those who are dedicated to helping our nation.
In 2022, we will be expanding our current Community Outreach Program. For more than 10 years, Epic Specialty Staffing and its employees have contributed to multiple national and local charities including The American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association, National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Tampa Kiwanis Foundation, and Metropolitan Ministries. We believe giving back to our community and helping those in need is everyone’s responsibility and we are dedicated to volunteering our time, talent, and treasure to those who are most in need.
To learn more about Epic Specialty Staffing, contact us today.