RESOURCES:
Reliable Residence Contact Info
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TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Caroline MacGregor. And today, we are talking with Christina Henderson. She is a resident physician in Madison, Wisconsin, and we are taking about the difficulty here in Ann Arbor for traveling physicians and nurses and other healthcare professionals to find affordable housing. Welcome to the program, Christina!
Christina Henderson: Thank you! Thank you so much for having me! I'm excited to be here!
Caroline MacGregor: So, affordable housing is a topic that's been raised repeatedly in the Ann Arbor area. But many people probably don't stop to think that this affects everybody, including professionals, traveling professionals, including doctors, physicians and nurses. And their work in the local economy is, of course, imperative to the healthcare system. How difficult is it for traveling healthcare professionals to find accommodation in the area currently?
Christina Henderson: Yeah, it can be quite challenging. I mean, not only do they have to find something that's affordable, they have to find that's furnished. That alone is really challenging. And then, it has to be safe. It has to within a certain distance of their workplace, which is, generally, one of the large hospitals nearby.
Caroline MacGregor: So, Christina, you have developed a resource guide of sorts to help traveling doctors, physicians and nurses find housing in the Ann Arbor area when they accept employment. What is the name of your resource guide?
Christina Henderson: The name of this resource is called Reliable Residence. And we built it with that name because that's what it should be, is reliable.
Caroline MacGregor: And I know that in discussions that we previously had, we talked about the fact that there have been quite a few nightmare stories, as far as the type of places that traveling healthcare professionals have found. Tell me about some of the difficulties that you have personally encountered when you travel to the area.
Christina Henderson: Absolutely. I had a housing situation as a fourth-year medical student where I had rented a room off of a pretty well-known website. And when I showed up with my suitcase and moved into that house, in fact, it was a hoarder's house, and I did not realize that. Not having family in the area at the time, not having a ton of flexibility on my budget, I was pretty much stuck for that month-long rotation. And that was unfortunate because I'm there to really focus on my studies, do a good job on my hospital rotation. But rather, housing became a major concern that was constantly at the forefront of my mind.
Caroline MacGregor: Do the hospitals not give out some advice or resources to traveling health professionals to help them find accommodation? I mean, obviously, they're heavily invested in this.
Christina Henderson: Great question, and it really depends on the university. Some certainly do give out housing resources. The question is whether those resources are actually vetted. And usually, it's not enough resources to house not only the permanent medical students in the area or other professionals, but the visiting professionals as well. And I think that's really where we see a large supply/demand gap in the housing market.
Caroline MacGregor: So, what have the implications so far been of the difficulties that some traveling physicians and nurses face when they come to the area eager to accept employment?
Christina Henderson: Yes. So, when we started the resource in Madison, Wisconsin, we saw that a lot of travel nurses and other medical professionals were canceling their contracts because they couldn't find housing. We then solved the housing problem in Madison. We looked and said, "Where is the next best place to go where we're seeing a very similar trend?" And that happens to be Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, healthcare travelers are canceling their contracts left and right because they cannot find affordable furnished housing. And it leaves us, unfortunately, majorly understaffed in our healthcare system. And so, I think looking inward to see how we can maximize housing resources is really important.
Caroline MacGregor: So, let's talk about the resource that you have come up with for traveling doctors and nurses. I'm very curious to know how you started this and how long it's been in effect and, of course, how it's working for people so far.
Christina Henderson: Absolutely! I really built it out of experience. I was trying to solve my own problem, and I believe in doing so has helped many other healthcare professionals as well. We started the resource I had mentioned in Madison, Wisconsin with walkthroughs of properties to ensure that they are, first, real and, second, that they are clean and they're safe and well-maintained. Now expanding into Ann Arbor, we started with no properties in Madison, and we built it up to well over 250 listings in that area, and we plan to do the same thing in Ann Arbor. So, starting with no properties, and we've already hit 30 by August 1st. And we plan to continue to maximize that as we grow to really meet the demand that is needed in the area.
Caroline MacGregor: And to set up this resource guide, how do you actually tangibly go about finding places to add to this guide? How does it all work? How does all come together?
Christina Henderson: Yeah, absolutely! We tend to work with a lot of property management companies and apartment complexes, but, of course, private owners as well. We have a very in-depth conversation with them about what their expectations are of renters and, vice versa, what our expectations are of them as owners. And that really entails accountability, being responsive and keeping the space clean for them. We do everything from rooms for rent that can help with medical student budgets all the way up to larger properties, so that physicians can bring their families when they relocate.
Caroline MacGregor: My guest today is Christina Henderson, and we are talking about the difficulty in finding affordable housing for travel nurses and doctors. So, it sounds like this resource is working. How long has it been in effect here in Ann Arbor?
Christina Henderson: Yes. It's only been in effect just a few short weeks, and we've already started to see some bookings. We've started to some people use it. We even had someone that was nearly ready to cancel their contract, and they've been able to secure housing, and we were able to save that contract.
Caroline MacGregor: What sort of rent rates are we talking about when you say affordable? Or what is affordable in the minds of traveling doctors and nurses?
Christina Henderson: Absolutely! We have rooms for rent as low as $750 a month, and then we have larger properties that are, of course, a little bit more expensive, but perhaps could accommodate someone with more flexibility in their budget. We really utilize different ways to create affordability in housing, whether that be a rent-a-room situation for medical students or, sometimes, we have snowbirds that will leave the Ann Arbor region over the winter. And rather than having their property sit vacant, they can have a healthcare professional who is trustworthy be in there looking after that space but also getting a reasonable rent out of that.
Caroline MacGregor: This shortage of affordable housing for traveling healthcare professionals, like all of us who are looking for affordable housing in the area, this has to be of great concern to the hospitals, the employers, as far as potentially losing more staff, and there's already shortages of staff in the nursing field. But to have work contracts compromised is a big deal here.
Christina Henderson: It is, and I would like to emphasize it is certainly not unique to Ann Arbor. Many hospitals across the country are facing major staffing shortages right now. And by bringing in some of these traveling professionals and even just our medical students alone, we can really improve the retention. We can really maximize the value adds that these healthcare professionals have on the system by supporting them with things like housing.
Caroline MacGregor: How can the community help healthcare professionals with this demand gap, as far as affordable housing options? How can people get involved to fill this housing gap?
Christina Henderson: Absolutely! I think having owners reach out to us that are interested in renting even just a room. But if you have a whole property as well, even if it's unfurnished, but you would consider furnishing it for healthcare professionals, that's a discussion we would love to have. You can contact us at www.reliableresidence.com.
Caroline MacGregor: It sounds like, by the very nature of vetting places, that you would avoid some of the fraud that's going on on some of sites for affordable housing because there's a lot of websites advertising rooms and affordable housing as I just mentioned. But some people are really trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. They either turn out to not be real places or they're trying to get people's financial information. Your site sounds like a very safe alternative for people to find accommodation.
Christina Henderson: Absolutely! That is a major concern, and that is exactly why we do not operate like other platforms out there where anybody can come on and list. We really restrict it. One, we have to serve that area. Two, we want to have some sort of connection with the community or hospital system, so that we can make sure we're serving the right need. And so, when we talk to these owners, we are very clear that it has to be a furnished space. It has to include utilities and wi-fi in the rent. It has to be clean and well-maintained because, ultimately, the whole purpose of this is to de-stress the nurse or doctor that's coming into the area, and that's, ultimately, what we are doing here.
Caroline MacGregor: How important is it to have a peaceful, quiet place to stay, considering that most healthcare physicians are in a fairly high-stress environment during their average work day?
Christina Henderson: It is. It's really stressful, not only to, one, relocate even temporarily across the country, but especially for women traveling alone. These are new hospitals, new cities, new everything, transportation. So, for housing to be a stressor on top of that can really make or break a deal at the hospital. And ultimately, we want our hospitals to have the best clinicians they can, so that our communities receive the best care. And I just firmly believe that giving them the resources to succeed is the place we need to start.
Caroline MacGregor: One last question I wanted to ask you. Given the extended stay of some healthcare professionals in the area, do you see cases where people want to bring their pets with them?
Christina Henderson: We actually have a lot of people that bring their animals. In fact, about 40% of nurses and medical students actually bring their pet along with them. I think it's a source of comfort when you're away from home. And so, a good amount of our listings are pet-friendly, and we really strive for that, again, for peace of mind for our healthcare professionals.
Caroline MacGregor: All right! Well, thank you! I've been speaking with Christina Henderson. She's a resident physician in Madison, Wisconsin, who frequently travels to the Ann Arbor area. We've been discussing the difficulty of finding affordable housing for traveling healthcare physicians and others in the industry. And she has come up with a special resource guide. Thank you, Christina, for joining us today on WEMU!
Christina Henderson: Thank you so much for having me!
Caroline MacGregor: This is 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
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