Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital welcomes international nurses

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital has recently welcomed the first of several international registered nurses as part of a new recruitment program. It’s one of the ways the facility is looking to ease a statewide and national shortage of nurses worsened by the pandemic.

International recruiting isn’t new to health care and is becoming more common for facilities around the country.  Local nursing schools are working to accommodate the rising demand for nurses, but they too, face many challenges that are making it more difficult to increase enrollment.  

“We’ll always recruit from local nursing schools, but we must also utilize multiple solutions to combat the nursing shortage” said Tanya Nelson-Hackney, Chief Nursing Officer at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. “At Lake Cumberland, we take pride in having a highly-trained, diverse workforce and recruiting internationally also helps us do that.”

As mentioned, Lake Cumberland is working with agencies to help source registered nurses from several countries, like the Philippines, who have adopted the U.S. standards for medical and nursing training. It isn’t a quick process and many of these contracts have been in the works for upwards of 12 to 18 months, but there are a lot of moving pieces that must be secured before the nurse is able to begin their new role, including securing work visas, nursing licensures, housing, and more. Another key element is that families come, too. Spouses or significant others and any other dependent children move as well, hoping to make their transition a little easier.

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital recently welcomed Mark Segador as the first international nurse to join the team. Mark, a 35-year-old nurse, moved to Somerset from Iloilo City, Philippines. He has six years of nursing experience working in different departments such as the ER, ICU, surgical, orthopedics and Cardiac Cath Lab. He also worked as a cruise ship nurse in Europe and Brazil.

“What appealed to me in moving to the U.S. was the opportunity to grow my career as a nurse. Nursing in the U.S. is diverse and has a systemized ladder in advancing one’s clinical practice,” explained Mark. “I also believe that moving here allows me to have a more stable life and gives me the chance to support my family back home.”

Mark is currently working with our team in the Neuro Unit. He has completed orientation and is working hand-in-hand with senior nursing directors and managers, as well as providing independent patient care. He has quickly adjusted to nursing practices and policies within our facility and is aware that despite there being a bit of a learning and language curve, the Philippines and U.S. ultimately follow the same principles of patient-centered care.

Since his arrival in September, Mark, has been grateful for the support he’s received from Lake Cumberland employees and the community as a whole.

“The Lake Cumberland family has given me a very warm welcome since the first day I got here,” said Mark. “They are caring, supportive and keep in constant contact to make sure I am doing okay and have everything I need, both at work and at home. I really appreciate them and the family-like culture at LCRH.”

Mark is just one of several international nurses that will be joining Lake Cumberland in 2022 and 2023.

“Registered nurses are of critical importance, and we are excited to expand our recruitment efforts internationally,” said Robert Parker, CEO at LCRH. “We welcome Mark to our community, and we look forward to continuing to add highly trained nurses to our excellent team”

For more information on recruitment and career opportunities at Lake Cumberland, visit LakeCumberlandHospital.com.