Originally published on January 13, 2022 by MobiHealthNews
ShiftKey, a startup that connects healthcare workers and facilities with open shifts, raised $300 million, bringing its valuation to more than $2 billion.
First reported by Axios, the round was led by majority investor Lorient Capital and completed through a continuation vehicle led by the Ares Management Secondaries funds and Pantheon. Other investors participating in the raise include Clearlake Capital and Health Velocity Capital.
WHAT IT DOEs
ShiftKey offers a platform that lets nursing, certified nursing assistants and other healthcare professionals search for per diem shifts in their area, bid on those shifts and build their schedules.
The Dallas-based company said it has worked with thousands of licensed healthcare professionals across more than 10,000 facilities across the country.
"Nurses continue to choose to work on their own terms," Tom Ellis, founder and CEO of ShiftKey, said in a statement. "Our vision is to empower nurses and other licensed professionals through the combination of our core marketplace product along with additional technology and tools such as scheduling, payments, education and credentialing. We are appreciative of the support of our investors who share in this objective."
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Staff shortages continue to be a serious concern for the healthcare sector, contributing to mounting financial strain on hospitals.
"Every aspect of patient care –
from being admitted, to treatment, to discharge –is affected by the labor shortage and, as we head into the virus season and potential new waves of COVID-19, the pressures on hospitals and their staff could mount," said Erik Swanson, senior vice president of data and analytics with Kaufman Hall, in Healthcare Finance News.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, provider burnout also increased. In a 2022 survey of about 1,800 nursing professionals and students, 28% said their desire to leave the profession increased dramatically since the pandemic. Thirty percent said they plan to stay in nursing for the foreseeable future, but 23% plan to look for a new career in one to two years, and 13% plan to retire in one to five years.
Other companies offering healthcare staffing platforms have recently completed large funding rounds. In August, nurse=staffing marketplace Incredible Health scooped up $80 million in Series B funding, boosting the startup's valuation to $1.65 billion.
Nomad Health, an online job portal for temporary healthcare workers, announced a $105 million raise over the summer. In April, nurse-staffing platform IntelyCare scooped up $115 million in Series C funding, bumping the company's valuation to $1.1 billion.