After years of a successful physician recruitment partnership, an Illinois health system partnered with Jackson Physician Search to find three physicians to join its community long-term.
They say the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location. The same is true in physician recruitment, but the ZIP code is just part of the equation. The key factor is the local recruitment consultant’s connections with their community and their clients.
That’s why an award-winning community hospital in Southern Illinois has worked with Jackson Physician Search for over a decade. Despite a unique set of recruiting challenges, the hospital has consistently attracted top talent across multiple specialties, with 35 physicians placed since 2012.
The award-winning facility sits in Southern Illinois, a destination that can give candidates pause, especially when they’re considering offers from the major health systems across the river in St. Louis. But when a recruiter knows the area and understands what the physician is looking for — be it the best schools, the choicest neighborhood, or a large piece of land in a quiet community — a community-based recruitment partner can help a physician picture the life they’ve dreamed about, all within their call area.
In a span of just a few months, Senior Search Consultant Cori Centerino placed three physicians, each with a unique set of circumstances that required flexibility, creativity, and trust to overcome.
Taking a Creative Route to Bring a Neurologist Home
When Cori launched a text campaign in May 2025, pitching the neurology opportunity at the award-winning hospital, one candidate responded almost immediately. The physician, Dr. X, was a St. Louis native who still owned a home in the area but was working a locums contract in New Jersey. The chance to come home was irresistible. But there was a complication: Dr. X was committed to keeping her current locums contract until her replacement was found. Because she was in rural New Jersey, it would be at least a year until she’d be ready to relocate.
Most hospitals would have ended the conversation right there. But the CEO was impressed by Dr. X’s credentials, and she won over everyone in the neurology department. The fact that she was a local with a home in the area gave him confidence he could count on her to start as soon as she could, so he was open to a creative arrangement. Dr. X would work on a part-time basis — one week per month — until her obligations to her patients were fulfilled, with the financial terms structured to match the timeline. It was an unconventional structure, but here, the local connection made all the difference.
When the Offer and Expectations Are Miles Apart
As the only firm to provide every recruiter with a license to Doximity, Cori frequently uses the platform to promote her opportunities. It wasn’t long until Cori’s campaign for a family medicine position at the Southern Illinois hospital caught Dr. A’s attention.
Dr. A was a family medicine-trained Associate Medical Director practicing in Kansas City. Her son had just been accepted to an elite private school in St. Louis, and she was hoping to find a job nearby. The location of the Southern Illinois hospital couldn’t be better, but the initial offer was miles away from Dr. A’s experience and expectations. Cori knew that her leadership skills, extensive background in managing complex cases in a primary care setting, and priority of value-based care made her a better candidate than they could have dreamed. She immediately got to work bridging the $100,000 compensation gap.
“It took a lot of consulting to make sure we were market competitive,” Cori recalls of the negotiations. “The CEO was receptive to the market feedback we provided and was motivated to place someone quickly. We increased the base, doubled the sign-on bonus, and got the offer in her hands before she could look anywhere else. It all came together in less than two months.”
Coaching a Nervous Candidate Across the Finish Line
Dr. F was a recent family medicine residency graduate from Chicago. He was looking for an opportunity in St. Louis, a city he was drawn to after visiting friends there. When Cori leveraged our vast physician database to launch a targeted email campaign, he responded immediately. The opportunity to work at a nonprofit hospital meant he could qualify for student loan debt forgiveness, and the hospital’s location was an asset to his wife, who had an Illinois real estate license.
An interview was scheduled less than a week later. The team at the hospital was impressed and eager to bring Dr. F. on board. However, at first, he was nervous about signing, as it was his first job offer after training. Cori coached him through the process while working with her client to sweeten the offer, upping the compensation and student loan forgiveness provisions. Cori’s strategy was built on the trust she had established with both the CEO and the candidate. “We were able to give him everything he asked for and more, including a generous relocation package. My challenge was to make him comfortable with the offer and engaged in the process so he wasn’t tempted to pursue other opportunities.”
Within weeks, the contract was signed. He would start three months later, and if he completed his contract, he would be student-debt free.
The Coordinates of a Winning Search Strategy
Cori’s close partnership with the organization’s leadership and deep connection to the greater St. Louis area gave Jackson Physician Search a distinct advantage in connecting a hospital in a lesser-known location with top-tier providers. Because she calls the area home, she is both an ambassador and local expert who can guide candidates toward a move that advances both their career and lifestyle goals, while her proximity to her client cultivates close collaboration, creative offers, and speed in negotiations.
Would your organization benefit from a strong physician recruitment partner? Our business development team would be happy to discuss the benefits of a partnership with Jackson Physician Search. Contact us today to learn more.
