Dallas, Texas, June 4, 2026 – Hospitals across the U.S. are facing unsustainable nurse staffing costs driven by overtime and agency fees primarily created by workforce shortages. To alleviate this problem Dallas-based Nurses Lounge has created Nurse FLEX Pool, designed to supplement a hospital’s internal / external float pools by giving them direct unlimited access to local nurses for a single flat monthly subscription fee.
U.S. hospitals are spending an average of $2.5 million annually on contract labor — nearly double what they spent four years ago. Those costs are not declining. Per diem staffing agency fees alone are projected to double from $4 billion to $8 billion by 2033. According to Tim Armes, CEO and Co-Founder of Nurses Lounge, this means the hospital industry will be spending $8 billion each year to hire nurses who often live only a few miles from the facilities they serve.
How the Nurse FLEX Pool Works
The Nurse FLEX Pool replaces traditional per-placement agency staffing models by offering a model that provides unlimited access to a curated pool of pre-credentialed local nurses. Nurses are AI-matched to assignments according to their specialty, ensuring optimal alignment with the facility’s needs all for a single flat monthly subscription fee. As example, a 200 bed facility would pay a mere $30k a year for unlimited access to a local pool of nurses.
Access is managed conveniently through the NL FLEX POOL mobile app, available for both iOS and Android devices. Notably, facilities are not required to make any monthly payment until their first shift is successfully filled.
Benefits of the Flat Subscription Staffing Model
By implementing this model, which offers the advantages of a professional network rather than merely a pipeline, hospitals can achieve predictable staffing expenses and gain direct access to local nurses. This approach removes the financial strain associated with traditional staffing agencies and associated high per-placement costs. It also reduces the need for overtime pay offering a predictable and cost-effective solution for health care facilities, leading to greater work-life balance for nurses.
About Nurses Lounge
Nurses Lounge, a professional networking platform designed to connect and support nurses, was founded in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas in 2002 as a direct mail publication sent to 35,000 registered nurses (RNs) in the DFW area.
The growing network presently connects nurses, nursing associations, nursing schools (including 90 percent of Texas BSN programs) and healthcare facilities. It operates the largest online nursing degree program directory in the United States, listing 960 degree programs.
Tim Armes, the Dallas entrepreneur who founded Jobs.com and later saw it acquired by Monster.com, co-founded Nurses Lounge with his son Garret Armes, who leads school and association partnerships nationally.
The Nurse FLEX Pool is currently available to Texas healthcare facilities, with national expansion underway.
