First I would have her talk to her manager about her concerns. Usually that is enough to get everyone on the same page and working well together. If that did not do the trick I would have my account manager reach out and see if we cant get the situation mediated or at the least a change in the pay package to make up for the additional work and mileage being sprung on the nurse. If all else fails I would start submitting her out to new facilities and once something is locked down put in a two week notice.
The nurse expresses to the charge nurse that she is not competent or qualified and that she refuses the patient. Then she would contact her recruiters and then our Clinical liaison team would step in to ensure that our nurse is taken care of and that no further incidents occur.
I tell her to immediately go find the nurse manager and tell her that the living accommodations are unacceptable for obvious health reasons and have her ask what the plan is to get the room to a livable state. Then either I or our Housing department or possibly both would immediately find a hotel option for the night. Then based on the response from the facility on the time it would take to get the housing fixed and cleaned would find a new housing option on the meantime. If she would have to report I would handle the search through either a hotel search engine or for long term solutions I would look through funishedfinder.com or Airbnb. No one shold have to stay anywhere that is not safe or clean.
As a fellow asthmatic I tell her not to worry and that I will handle everything and have her send me a doctors note stating what happened and when she could return to work. We would reach out to the facility and let them know and provide the doctors note and offer to add the two weeks on to the end of the contract.
With trustaff that would never happen, If this happened with a company I would never work with them again. With the mandatory compliance like drug screens, testing, and everything it takes at least two weeks to start the assignment. Plus the contract would never be able to be written which would be a red flag and I have been blocked before and was unable to send out our acceptance confirmation because the contract with the facility hadn't been signed. There so many multiple checks to prevent that at trustaff its impossible. If worked for a company that let that happen to one of my travelers who outs their trust in me i would demand we pay for their housing in the interim until the contract is signed or id be looking for a new job for the traveler and myself.
Just be open and honest about who you are and what your expectations are in travel. A positive attitude is the best ting you can have. It sounds silly but its 100% true. Recruiters and Facilities are way more likely to work with you and help you over come any obstacles to make sure your assignment is great and successful if you are easy to work with. I'm not saying let anyone take advantage of you or walk all over you. However, sometimes things go slightly wrong or there are hiccups and if you approach it as we are a team lets find a solution as apposed to assigning blame and such recruiters will fight for the chance to work with you and keep working with you.