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Season 1 • Episode 43

Inside Humla Health: A Nurse-Led Revolution in Staffing, Flexibility & Mental Health (With Jessica Sylvester)

Dec 3, 2025
30:40

Episode Description

In this episode of Club Nurse, Colton chats with Jessica Sylvester, MBA, RN, BSN—nurse of 22 years, former ER director, and now founder & CEO of Humla Health, a nurse-built tech platform that lets credentialed W-2 nurses create profiles, match with facilities, and self-schedule like Uber/Rover instead of being chained to traditional agency contracts. She opens up about her roots in rural Minnesota, how her mom’s struggle with mental illness shaped her path into nursing, what COVID exposed about staffing, and why she finally jumped from “stable leader job” into building something totally new for nurses.

They get into:

  • Flexibility as a non-negotiable for modern nurses
  • Why it’s more a morale crisis than a true “nursing shortage”
  • Everyday nurse workarounds as real innovation
  • The fear, risk, and reality of launching a nurse-led startup
  • Protecting your mental health while still loving nursing again

If you’ve ever thought, “There HAS to be a better way to do this,” this episode is your sign to go make it real. 

>>Inside Humla Health: A Nurse-Led Revolution in Staffing, Flexibility & Mental Health

Jump Ahead to Listen:

[00:02:00] Mental health in nursing journey.
[00:05:32] Disruptive nursing technology platform.
[00:09:12] Nurse flexibility and control.
[00:12:48] Empowering nurses to innovate.
[00:14:32] The journey of entrepreneurship.
[00:17:59] AI's impact on nursing jobs.
[00:22:57] Direct nurse-to-facility relationships.
[00:27:31] Nursing entrepreneurship and innovation.
[00:28:25] Nurses starting their own companies.

Connect with Colton on social media:

Instagram:  @coltonalanlord, @club.nurse
TikTok: @nursecolton

Connect With Jessica on LinkedIn

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