Topline
Amid a rise in the number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 amid the rapid spread of the omicron variant, the virus is sidelining a worrying number of frontline healthcare workers, with more than 25% of hospitals in 18 states reporting they are grappling with severe shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical workers as of Saturday, according to Department of Health and Human Services data, five more states than two weeks ago.
A bustling hallway in Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside, New York. (Photo by Jeffrey … [+]
Key Facts
Nearly 59% of hospitals in Vermont are reporting critical staffing shortages, the highest proportion in the nation up around 6 percentage points from December 25 and three times the nationwide average of 19.3%.
To cover for the absences, Vermont hospitals are depending on traveling nurses, which cost the state $75 million last year, while many residents are traveling to nearby states to receive care.
New Mexico remained the second most affected state, with 48% of hospitals reporting critical staffing shortages, down four percentage points from two weeks ago; Troy Clark, the president of the New Mexico Hospital Association, told KOB4 he expects the shortage to be worse when factoring in travel nurses, and that workers were quitting due to burn out.
Third-worst affected is Rhode Island, where 47% of hospitals are reporting critical staff shortages, followed by West Virginia at 40%.
There are seven states with critical staffing shortages in about more than a third of their hospitals: California (35%), Kentucky (33%), Oklahoma (33%), Arizona (33%), Wisconsin (32%), North Dakota (31%), Massachusetts (30%).
There were around 138,000 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 on Saturday, up around 68% from the 7-day average of 81,837 the previous week, nearing the record 142,000 set on January 14, 2021.
What To Watch For
Out of the 18 states struggling with critical staffing shortages in at least 25% of their hospitals, four –Oklahoma, Arizona, South Carolina and Louisiana—expect the situation to get better within a week. In 10 states a greater number of hospitals are expecting shortages within a week, with the sharpest increases in Rhode Island and Wyoming.
Key Background
To address the medical staffing shortage, more states are adopting emergency measures with Ohio, Maryland, Delaware and Georgia mobilizing the National Guard to help strained hospitals in the past week. Omicron’s greater transmissibility means hospital staff are more prone to being exposed to the virus, sending them home to quarantine. A countrywide labor shortage is also another element that’s exacerbating the healthcare staff shortage, with a concerning number of healthcare workers quitting due to burnout after more than a year and a half of battling the pandemic. To alleviate the shortage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month cut in half the recommended period of isolation for healthcare workers who test positive for Covid from 10 days to five.
Further Reading
More military medical personnel are assisting hospitals with Covid-19 treatment as staff shortages mount (CNN)
In the nation’s hospitals, this covid wave is different (Washington Post)
After COVID-Positive Staff Work Amid Shortage, Hospital Sees Outbreak of Infections (Newsweek)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2022/01/08/these-18-states-are-grappling-with-critical-hospital-worker-shortages-as-covid-hospitalizations-surge/