Executive Summary

A Critical Access Hospital in North Dakota faced persistent nursing vacancies and relied heavily
on travel nurses to keep units staffed. With limited success recruiting locally, leadership chose
to pursue international direct-hire nurses through Global MedTeam.

Their goals were to reduce dependence on contract labor, hire experienced RNs, build long-term
workforce stability, and do so without adding operational burden to a small HR team. The
hospital’s first international nurse has now arrived, obtained licensure, and begun work, with
Global MedTeam managing end-to-end coordination so the hospital could focus on standard
onboarding and clinical integration.

Client Profile

• Hospital type: Critical Access Hospital
• Location: Rural North Dakota
• Operating context: Small HR team, limited local labor pool
• Staffing environment: Sustained nursing vacancies across multiple core units

The Problem

The hospital had faced persistent nursing vacancies for several years, with some units relying
heavily on travel nurses to maintain coverage. Despite ongoing recruitment efforts, the rural
location and competitive labor market made it difficult to attract experienced nurses willing
to commit to long-term, permanent roles.

Over time, reliance on contract labor increased costs without improving workforce stability.

Hospital leadership explored multiple hiring strategies, including international recruitment,
and recognized the potential of internationally educated nurses to support long-term staffing
needs.

Through that experience, leaders became clear that success would depend on working with a
partner able to provide a consistent, scalable pipeline of experienced candidates and to
support the process without placing additional strain on a small HR team. Any solution would
need to create an operationally manageable path to building a permanent nursing workforce.

Why They Chose Global MedTeam

Leadership prioritized a partner that could consistently deliver experienced, permanent nurses
without adding administrative burden. Beyond candidate availability, leaders were focused on
fit, retention, and the ability to execute reliably in a rural setting.

Global MedTeam differentiated itself through a direct-hire model supported by a deep pipeline
of internationally educated nurses with prior acute-care experience. Rather than emphasizing
volume, Global MedTeam focused on matching qualified candidates to the hospital’s specific
clinical needs, culture, and long-term workforce goals, while managing the most operationally
complex aspects of international recruitment end to end.

For leadership, the decision came down to two factors: access to high-quality talent and
confidence that execution would be predictable and repeatable.

Scope of the Partnership

The hospital partnered with Global MedTeam to support the direct hire of dozens of
internationally educated nurses into permanent roles across core units. The engagement was
structured to clearly define responsibilities and minimize operational lift for the hospital.

Global MedTeam was responsible for sourcing and presenting qualified candidates, coordinating
licensure and immigration processes, and managing arrival and relocation logistics through
each nurse’s transition into the community.

The hospital’s role was limited to standard hiring and onboarding activities, including
interviews, employment offers, and internal orientation, with no changes required to existing
clinical workflows or staffing models.

Nurse Profile

The first nurse hired through the partnership, Alyssa, is an experienced RN with more than
seven years of bedside experience, including work in a high-volume emergency department in
the Philippines and a telemetry unit at a major hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Her international clinical background, experience managing both trauma and complex cardiac
patients, and successful NCLEX completion in 2023 positioned her for success in a U.S.
critical access hospital setting.

International Journey

Relocating nearly 7,000 miles from the Philippines to rural North Dakota in mid-winter required
careful coordination, particularly with a young child.

Global MedTeam managed the nurse’s transition end to end to ensure her arrival and onboarding
were smooth, predictable, and low stress for both the hospital and her family.

In advance of arrival, Global MedTeam coordinated travel, immigration and licensure
documentation, onboarding preparation, and housing readiness.

A representative met the nurse and her family upon arrival and personally supported them
through critical setup steps, including Social Security registration, banking, and local
orientation.

Special attention was given to preparing the nurse’s home and supporting her family’s
transition. The apartment was fully set up prior to arrival, with essentials in place so the
family could walk into a functioning home rather than temporary housing.

For Alyssa’s young son, Global MedTeam prepared a child-friendly room and left a handwritten
note assuring him that Santa knew exactly where to find him for Christmas.

On the eve of hospital orientation, Global MedTeam hosted a welcome dinner attended by
hospital leadership and members of the local Filipino-American community. The hospital CEO
attended personally to welcome the nurse and underscore the importance of her role.

Throughout the process, coordination between the hospital and Global MedTeam remained
straightforward, with roles and responsibilities clearly defined and no disruption to
day-to-day operations.

See Alyssa’s Journey

Watch how Alyssa and her family made the transition from the Philippines to North Dakota,
and hear directly from hospital leadership about the partnership with Global MedTeam.

“The onboarding support provided was truly outstanding. From day one, the team went
above and beyond to make our new hire feel welcomed, supported, and confident.
Navigating a new role in a foreign country can be overwhelming, but their hands-on
guidance, clear communication, and genuine care ensured a smooth transition and set
the foundation for long-term success. This level of onboarding reflects a deep
commitment to people and excellence.”
— Director of HR

Outcomes to Date

The nurse successfully completed licensure requirements, began work ahead of schedule, and
transitioned into her role within the hospital’s existing orientation framework.

Beyond clinical onboarding, the nurse and her family have been welcomed into the local
community, reinforcing leadership’s confidence that international direct hire can support
both workforce stability and long-term retention in a rural setting.

With the first arrival completed, the hospital and Global MedTeam are now preparing for
additional nurse arrivals across multiple units and from other countries beyond the
Philippines.

What This Means for Similar Hospitals

This case demonstrates that international direct-hire nursing can move from concept to
execution, even in a rural, critical access setting, when responsibilities are clearly defined
and the approach is built for permanence rather than short-term coverage.

For hospitals facing sustained vacancies and heavy reliance on travel nurses, this model
offers a path to stabilizing core staffing without expanding internal HR capacity or taking on
unfamiliar administrative complexity.

It is best suited for organizations seeking long-term workforce stability and willing to plan
hires in phases, rather than as an emergency response. For those conditions, this case
provides an early, practical example of how international recruitment can be operationalized
responsibly and repeatably.