Jefferson Health Nurse SEAL Team Expansion: Strategy & Growth
Jefferson Health Expands Innovative ‘Nursing SEAL Team’ too Lehigh Valley
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Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health is extending its successful “Nursing SEAL Team” program to its newly merged Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) region in Pennsylvania, aiming to bolster staffing flexibility and reduce reliance on costly agency nurses.
Program Origins and Goals
Jefferson Health launched the Nursing SEAL Team program in 2022, inspired by the Navy SEALs’ “anywhere and anything” approach. The program, which stands for service, excellence, advocacy, and leadership, was designed to fill vacant shifts and decrease the use of external agency staff.
Merger and Expansion
Jefferson Health and LVHN, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, completed their merger in 2024, creating a 32-hospital system. This merger paved the way for expanding the SEAL Team program to LVHN hospitals.
Demonstrated Success
As its inception, the SEAL Team program has substantially reduced Jefferson Health’s dependence on agency nurses. The system has decreased agency nurse usage by more than 75% since the program’s launch. Jefferson is currently increasing the team’s size from 152 to 236 full-time nurses to support the expansion.
“When we initially launched the SEAL team, the goal was to improve filled vacant shifts, decrease agency nurse use and decrease internal premium pay, and we were able to do all those things,” said Andrew Thum, DNP, director of nursing workforce operations at Jefferson Health, in an interview with Becker’s.
SEAL Team Capabilities
SEAL nurses are highly adaptable and can be deployed to various units, including medical-surgical, critical care, and emergency departments. The average SEAL Team nurse has nine years of experience and has the flexibility to accept assignments across different divisions,states,and the entire 32-hospital Jefferson Health system.