Hospitals brace for staff shortage as coronavirus cases rise

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, it was the relentless demand for masks, face shields and other protective equipment for healthcare workers that strained the system. Today, as the deadly virus spreads uncontrollably across the country, the main concern is the shortage of medical personnel.

Already, itinerant nursing companies are seeing record numbers of job openings – and skyrocketing pay rates – as hospitals scramble to recruit staff to meet needs brought on by soaring COVID hospitalization rates . Medical systems, such as UCSF, which once sent their nurses and doctors to hot spots such as New York, are now refusing to part with their staff, knowing that they too might need all hands on deck . And calls from public health officials to stay home over Thanksgiving weekend are becoming more urgent, with social distancing and masking being the primary means of preventing hospitals from filling up in absence. vaccine.

“We are alone and our hospitals are suffering at this point,” said Marty Fenstersheib, COVID-19 testing manager for Santa Clara County.

In the past few days, California has recorded more cases than ever – surpassing 20,000 new cases on Monday alone. In the United States, more than 178,000 new cases and 2,200 deaths were recorded on Tuesday. More than 88,000 people are in hospital with the coronavirus this Thanksgiving Day, including nearly 700 in the Bay Area – the most since August.

Statewide, with more than 1,550 people in the ICU, fewer than 2,000 ICU beds remain open and, according to the public hospital scorecard, some counties, including Santa Cruz and Sonoma, n do not have or only a few available.

“All options are on the table if needed, including a field respite center,” Santa Clara County said Wednesday in response to a question about its intention to convert the Santa Clara County Convention Center back to a medical facility. “We hope this is not necessary and ask everyone to continue doing their part by wearing face masks, socializing and not traveling.”

Critical care patients by nature require intensive care, and in non-COVID conditions that means just one or two patients per nurse. But achieving these staffing levels is becoming increasingly difficult.

“Right now the demand is three times what it normally is,” said Dan Weberg, clinical innovation manager at Trusted Health, a three-year start-up that pairs nurses with nurses. jobs in the Bay Area and across the country. “There may be enough physical hospital beds, but there just aren’t enough staff.”

And if over the past few years and even earlier in the pandemic, not all hospitals needed nurses at the same time, that has changed. Hospitals are drawing from the same limited pool of nurses and, in some cases, extending contracts – meaning other hospitals are left behind. In the Golden State, demand is particularly high in Los Angeles right now.

But, said Weberg, “Overall we see California bracing for the worst and preparing for the worst.”

Renowned hospital systems, such as UC San Francisco, which sent doctors and nurses to New York and the Navajo Nation in April, are now keeping staff close.

“We just can’t risk it this time around when we could be criticized ourselves in a week or two,” tweeted Bob Wachter, chairman of the UCSF Department of Medicine.

Traditional itinerant nursing agencies are also seeing increasing demand, with hospitals offering $ 6,000 or more per week to woo workers.

Trusted Health is seeing nurses who took time off return to the workforce, and those who have joined nursing schools are back in the trenches.

This is also happening at the state level – but not all efforts to expand the pool have been successful. While Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for retired and unemployed medical workers to join what he called the California Health Corps resulted in more than 90,000 volunteers, only a tiny fraction were actually sent, many being stuck with expired medical licenses and other bureaucratic issues.

“There are approximately 900 California Health Corps executives available to support California’s response,” the California Department of Public Health told the news organization on Wednesday in response to questions about the governor’s call to arms. spring. Health personnel worked more than 2,500 shifts to support 109 facilities statewide.

The state has some of the toughest licensing requirements in the country, which affect even active medical workers. According to Weberg of Trusted Health, it takes weeks for foreign nurses to get licensed in California, while the process only takes hours or days in other states like New York.