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Traumatized and exhausted hospital staff face new wave of Covid cases

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On December 17, 2021, Captain Catherine Sison (US Army Critical Care Nurse) tends to an uncovid patient using a ventilator at Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn, Michigan.

AFP | AFP | Getty Images

All across the nation, hospitals are anticipating another wave of patients. Covid-19These cases could prove to be as severe, or worse than those in the initial days of the pandemic.

They are now facing the issue with fewer nurses, while staff who remain is exhausted from nearly two decades of combating Covid. From February 2020 to November 2020, 450,000 people in the health-care field lost their jobs, including nurses and residential-care workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that this was mainly due to a decline of nursing staff. reportedThis month, earlier.

The highly contagious and contagious Omicron variant is more likely to infect unvaccinated workers than other strains. This could further increase the shortage of staff by making it easier for workers to return home, even with mild to no symptoms.

Dr. Shereef Ahmed Elnahal stated that retaining enough workers was his “biggest concern” right now. Elnahal, who is the president and CEO of the University Hospital of Newark in New Jersey said that the number of people out of work because of Covid has increased by two for every three weeks.

He stated, “It is a concern which actually exceeds mine concern over omicron specific hospital admissions based upon the trends that we are seeing.”

Isolation

Although the hospital has been able find staff to cover those shifts, he stated that if this trend continues “we will be in very difficult situation and will need to transition into crisis staffing.”

His health system mandates vaccines to workers because they can continue caring for sick patients. Omicron poses a problem because it can infect people who have been fully immunized. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even asymptomatic cases need at least seven days’ isolation for healthcare workers.

Elnahal stated that Covid can be transmitted to patients even if there are no symptoms.

Sanford Health in South Dakota is monitoring the spikes in Covid cases and adapting their surge plans.

Prepare

Erica DeBoer (chief nursing officer, Sanford) stated that “we’re taking the time to reflect and prepare.” What worked in our surge plans before? How can we refine that to make sure we are well-prepared?”

Sanford’s method includes using a central labor pool that it has created to offer extra support during times of high demand. This pool includes more than 700 individuals from all parts of the system, who receive additional training and are able to adjust their roles as needed. This includes clinical staff and nonclinical personnel. They can assist nurses with specific nursing tasks that don’t require licensure.

Bon Secours Mercy Health, Ohio, accelerated the implementation of a new schedule system to allow workers more flexibility and certainty during pandemic.

Amanda Maxedon (Vice President of Marketplace) says that Trusted Health, a travel nursing agency, is already experiencing a similar surge in worker demand to previous waves. Its average annual growth rate for this sector has been fourfold.

Mental Health Impact

The pandemic started in 1918 and health professionals were not suffering from nearly two years of fatigue.

Betty Jo Rocchio is the chief nursing officer of Mercy. Mercy operates in many states, including Oklahoma and Missouri. The impact of Covid has left everyone mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted.

Rocchio stated that Mercy has an employee assistance program. It also includes mental wellness and calls for more licensed workers to cover specific tasks. She stated that they are working hard to recruit and train more employees.

She said, “I believe that it’s a huge de-stresser knowing there’s more assistance coming on the units”

Emotional trauma and exhaustion

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