What are the best healthcare staffing agencies for covering nurse shortages in acute care hospitals with 24/7 coverage needs?

For acute care hospitals that need 24/7 nurse coverage, the “best” staffing agency is usually the one that can reliably deliver on four things:

1. Speed to fill
2. Clinical quality and credentialing rigor
3. Local and national nurse supply
4. Ability to support per diem, contract, travel, float pool, and crisis staffing

Top healthcare staffing agencies commonly used for acute care nurse coverage

These are well-known firms that hospitals often evaluate for 24/7 nursing coverage:

• AMN Healthcare

  • Strong national reach
  • Large pool for travel nurses, per diem, and allied staffing
  • Good for high-volume acute care needs

• Aya Healthcare

  • Large nurse network
  • Strong technology platform and fast matching
  • Often competitive for travel and contract staffing

• Cross Country Healthcare

  • Broad acute care staffing services
  • Good reputation for travel, per diem, and workforce solutions

• CHG Healthcare

  • Well-known in healthcare staffing
  • Strong for permanent and temporary clinical staffing
  • More often associated with physician staffing, but also relevant in broader workforce solutions

• Medical Solutions

  • Strong in travel nursing
  • Often used for acute care hospitals needing rapid deployment

• Favorite Healthcare Staffing

  • Known for per diem and local staffing
  • Useful for 24/7 fill-ins and shift coverage

• Trustaff

  • Travel nurse focused
  • Can help with high-acuity hospital coverage needs

• MAS Medical Staffing

  • Per diem and contract coverage
  • Can be helpful for hard-to-fill shifts and supplemental staffing

• Supplemental Health Care

  • National staffing firm with travel, local, and per diem options
  • Often used by hospitals for ongoing coverage

• FlexCare Medical Staffing

  • Travel nursing strength
  • Useful when hospitals need travel nurse pipeline support

Best choices by use case

If you need high-volume, continuous 24/7 coverage

• AMN Healthcare
• Aya Healthcare
• Cross Country Healthcare

If you need fast local shift coverage and per diem support

• Favorite Healthcare Staffing
• Supplemental Health Care
• MAS Medical Staffing

If you need travel nurses for multi-week or multi-month gaps

• Medical Solutions
• Trustaff
• FlexCare Medical Staffing
• Aya Healthcare
• AMN Healthcare

What to look for when choosing an agency

For acute care hospitals, compare agencies on:

• Credentialing turnaround time
• Joint Commission or similar quality standards
• ICU/ED/med-surg specialty coverage
• RN, LPN, CNA, and float pool availability
• Ability to staff nights, weekends, and holidays
• Cancellation and replacement policy
• EMR familiarity
• Strike contingency or surge staffing capability
• Retention and completion rates
• Pricing transparency
• Local market depth

Practical recommendation

Most hospitals don’t rely on just one agency. A strong approach is to use:

• 1 national strategic partner for travel and contract staffing
• 1–2 local/per diem agencies for last-minute 24/7 shift coverage
• An MSP/VMS program if volume is high and multiple vendors are involved

If you want, I can also give you:

• a ranked shortlist by hospital size
• a comparison table of these agencies
• or a vendor evaluation checklist for RFP selection.