Schneider Regional Medical Center invited applicants into its lobby in hopes of finding personnel to fill its ranks in four operational positions. With the chief executive officer and the head of personnel looking on, Thursday’s hiring fair was declared a success.
Medical center officials said they hadn’t staged a mass recruitment drive for several years. Applicants appearing in the lobby of the Roy L. Schneider Hospital filled out forms for spots in environmental services, as dietary assistants or in the transportation and security division.
“We typically have 10 hiring fairs through the Department of Labor and other partners,” Human Resources Manager Lisa Norman said.
Schneider Regional Chief Executive Officer Tina Comissiong said she found the scene at the hiring fair encouraging. “We had some positions we were looking to fill quickly and we figured we’d do on-the-spot hiring; we’d give people resumes — interviews — and turn around offers quickly.”
The chief credited her administrators for promoting the hiring fair in a way that produced a steady stream of job seekers. Those who are selected can look forward to working in a place where building a sense of community among coworkers is valued.
“We think this is a great place to work … everybody on the team, whether you’re clinical or nonclinical, contributes to the patient care that happens here,” Comissiong said.
SRMC Nursing Director Delphine Olivacce also came to the lobby to observe the hiring process. She said the medical center has also made progress in replenishing the nursing staff that dwindled in the days after hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
“Last calendar year in 2023, we onboarded 52 registered nurses and four (licensed practical nurses), and as of 2024, we continue on that path,” Olivacce said.
Hiring efforts in that area have also dramatically reduced the number of travel nurses needed to provide patient care, the nursing director said.
