Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
RelateCare set to expand in state
Sherwood expansion adding 255 jobs over three years
An Irish health care-support provider announced Thursday it will expand operations in Sherwood by adding 255 new jobs in the next three years.
RelateCare of Waterford City, Ireland, located hub operations in Sherwood in 2021 with remote workers and established permanent offices at the city’s Wildwood Centre and Medical Tower last year.
The company, which specializes in health care and communications services, supports back-office functions for hospitals and health care facilities across the U.S., including some of the nation’s largest hospital systems such as Cleveland Clinic, Stanford Children’s Health, Texas Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Lahey Health and Duke Health. The company says it schedules more than 20 million appointments for its health care partners each year. Its services include nurse triage and post-discharge support for patients.
“We are a rapidly growing company,” said Chief Operating Officer Eibhlin Payne, who was in Sherwood for Thursday’s announcement. RelateCare has more than 1,400 employees in Ireland and the U.S., where its main offices are in Sherwood and Cleveland.
RelateCare has 100 employees in Arkansas today, most of them working remotely, Payne said. “Today we’re delighted to announce the launch of our fourth patient coordination center here in the Wildwood Centre in Sherwood,” she added.
Arkansas was a target location when the company was considering expansion options in the U.S.
“Like many companies, we were really struggling to hire and retain talent against the backdrop of the pandemic and the great resignation,”
Payne said, referring to the mass exodus of workers from the labor force in the first months of covid-19.
The company began operations in 2021 renting space at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and was successful in hiring employees to fill key roles, according to Payne. “We were able to bring in people for training and allow them to work remotely afterward,” she said.
With the expansion, RelateCare plans to hire patientcare coordinators, registered nurses, management and support staff over the next three years. The company is part of the Akusus Group, also based in Waterford, and provides consulting and outsourcing services in the healthcare sector.
RelateCare began as a joint venture between Rigneydolphin Group, a Irish telecommunications provider, and the Cleveland Clinic in 2014. The company has added 500 jobs in the past year in the U.S., officials said.
“RelateCare has seen rapid growth over the past two years, with our administrative and clinical solutions increasingly supporting a wide range of health systems in the United States,” Conor O’Byrne, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Our goal is to provide a flexible working model that affords our employees great opportunities to progress and upskill to support our dynamic business. As a homegrown Irish organization increasingly focused on growing in the U.S., we now have a really strong platform to continue to drive solutions and create value for our healthcare clients here.”
Sherwood Mayor Mary Jo Heye-Townsell, who has a nursing background, said RelateCare plays a vital role in the health care ecosystem and will make a valuable contribution to the city and regional economies.
“Companies like RelateCare play such a crucial role in making sure patients receive the highest quality of care and help providers also deliver effectively,” she added. “Patients often feel overwhelmed and confused by the health care system. RelateCare helps simplify and streamline the patient experience, making it easier for patients to access care, navigate the system and to understand their options.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted the investment will strengthen the state economy.
“Through their landmark investment in our state, RelateCare is helping us build the economy we need to take Arkansas to the top,” she said in a statement.
The new hub in Sherwood will support RelateCare’s customers through remote clinical support, post-discharge management, and telehealth and patient appointment scheduling services.
RelateCare was offered state incentives for three years through the create rebate program, which provides rebates ranging from 3.9% to 5% of the annual payroll of new full-time permanent employees.