Avant Healthcare Professionals provides a broad range of services to meet medical staffing needs. The company, which is located in Florida, has a staff of over 200 and serves more than 35 states. Avant Healthcare Professionals provides internationally educated healthcare professionals to meet needs by U.S. healthcare institutions for hard-to-find nurses and therapists. 

The American Medical Association states that, while the American lifespan is increasing in length, chronic conditions such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are reducing the quality of life for many. The difficulties of these disorders can be reduced or managed with proper assistance. For this reason, the need for physical and occupational therapists is rapidly increasing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the demand for occupational therapy services is likely to increase by 33%, while the need for physical therapists will likely increase 39% between the years 2010 and 2020. While the entire healthcare industry is afflicted by shortages, the need for these types of therapists is increasing faster than any other.

Recent studies conclude that increasing shortages of healthcare industry workers will contribute to an overall decrease in quality of care in the United States, including longer waits at hospitals, more sporadic care by physicians, and an uptick in the frequency of medical errors.

Taken from an online survey of 475 U.S. healthcare quality experts, the ASQ poll also notes that shortages will cover all facets of medical staffing, from primary care physicians to lab technicians. Further studies by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggest that the burden on the industry from the 32 million newly insured (as of 2014) could have detrimental effects on patients’ experiences.

One industry that has risen to help fill the void in healthcare is medically focused staffing. Agencies have sprung up nationwide to address the pressing need for quality, professional employees. Groups like Avant Healthcare Professionals, located in Casselberry, Florida, are operated by experienced nurses and other healthcare workers who understand how to meet the imperative needs of the industry with top-quality staffing. Avant Healthcare Professionals works to make long-term matches between international clinical professionals and healthcare facilities here in the U.S.

Avant Healthcare Professionals, founded in 2003 by Shari Sandifer, provides comprehensive medical staffing of nurses and allied healthcare professionals. The Florida-based company employs over than 200 people in more than 35 states. Avant Healthcare Professionals’ many accolades include distinctions from several publications and professional organizations.

Avant Healthcare Professionals (Avant) was named in the Women President’s Organization (WPO) list of the Top 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies in North America in 2012. The list recognizes private organizations that are women owned and/or led that achieved a minimum of 500,000 dollars revenue by 2007’s end, and a minimum of 2 million dollars during 2012. Avant’s chief executive officer, Shari Dingle Sandifer, was chosen among roughly 300 nominees to receive the Orlando Business Journal’s 26 “Women Who Mean Business” award in 2013. The award is presented to an elite group of female executives in the Central Florida area, in recognition of their exemplary work. Ms. Sandifer was placed in the “Business Owner of the Year” category, along with seven other women.

Shari Sandifer, founder and CEO of Avant Healthcare Professionals, has been tapped to chair the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce for 2014-15. Avant Healthcare Professionals is a healthcare staffing and recruitment agency that specializes in placing foreign-educated nursing and therapy professionals in medical facilities located in the United States.

The Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, popularly known as Orlando, Inc., is one of only 70 chambers nationwide to earn a five-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since Orlando, Inc., focuses specifically on regional entrepreneurship, Sandifer – who left a career in nursing to start Avant Healthcare Professionals in 2003 – is well positioned to step into the leadership role.

Since launching Avant Healthcare Professionals, Sandifer has guided the company in its rapid expansion into a corporation that employs more than 200 nurses and therapy professionals in 32 states. Avant Healthcare Professionals has been recognized as one of the country’s top-50 fastest-growing women-led businesses and was listed in the INC. 5000.

Industry leader Avant Healthcare Professionals has been successfully placing internationally educated healthcare workers in long-term staffing positions for 10 years. The company assists employers in filling the need for registered nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists, among other professionals. Avant Healthcare Professionals was founded by Shari Sandifer, a former practicing nurse, who continues to serve as the company’s CEO. Ms. Sandifer and her team understand the varying needs of employers who are looking for subspecialties within a specific occupation. 

For example, occupational therapy contains a number of subspecialties. Currently the American Occupational Therapy Association endorses nine distinct certification areas in which therapists can help patients achieve an independent lifestyle. Four fields – gerontology, mental health, pediatrics, and physical rehabilitation – fall under the umbrella of board certification. With the successful completion of board certification requirements, the therapist is recognized as advanced in those areas. The five specialty certification fields are driving and community mobility; environmental modification; feeding, eating and swallowing; low vision; and school systems. Further education is required to obtain specialty certification in these areas.