How OSF Healthcare Impacted Rural Physician Shortages Through Strategic Relocation Support

The Challenge

OSF Healthcare, a leading integrated health system with facilities throughout Illinois and Michigan, faced a growing challenge: a critical shortage of physicians, particularly in rural communities. To sustain quality care and expand services, OSF needed to attract out-of-market physicians willing to relocate to smaller towns and underserved areas — a task made even harder by national healthcare staffing shortages.

The Solution

In 2022, OSF partnered with UrbanBound to deliver a more strategic, supportive relocation program. UrbanBound provided:

• Candidate education: UrbanBound’s technology gave candidates personalized access to community overviews, lifestyle details, and housing insights — helping them envision life in a new location.

• Relocation as a benefit: OSF repositioned relocation from a cash payout post start date to a supported journey, offering support with logistics, housing, and settling in — all powered by UrbanBound’s platform and support teams.

• Consistency & efficiency: With UrbanBound, OSF streamlined payments, ensured policy compliance, and delivered a consistent relocation experience across all roles and departments.

"UrbanBound is the future of healthcare relocation. The technology gives our newly hired physicians the much-needed support and provides access to relocation consultants; it is the best of both worlds, high touch and high tech."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  - Alex Clayton, Strategic Recruitment

The Results

Enhanced Candidate Experience: New physicians enjoyed a seamless transition with concierge relocation support, an “easy button” for their moves. This allowed them, as busy professionals, to focus on their new roles at OSF Healthcare rather than the stress of relocation.

Strengthened Employer Brand: By demonstrating a commitment to physician well-being beyond the workplace, OSF positioned itself as an employer of choice, even in highly competitive and hard-to-fill markets.