what Staff Shortages Choking U.S. Health Care System

 As the pandemic stretches on with no clear end in sight, one of the biggest unanswered questions is what this experience has meant, and ultimately will mean, for those who’ve been on the front lines throughout – the nation’s health care workforce – and the patients they serve. An estimated 1.5 million health care jobs were lost in the first two months of COVID-19 as the country raced to curb the novel coronavirus by temporarily closing clinics and restricting non-emergency services at U.S. hospitals. Though many of those jobs have since returned, health care employment remains below pre-pandemic levels, with the number of workers down by 1.1%, or 176,000, compared to February 2020, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet the need for health care workers has never been greater. Staffing shortages are now the nation’s top patient safety concern, forcing Americans to endure longer wait times when seeking care “even in life-threatening emergencies,” or to be turned away entirely, according to EC RI, a nonprofit patient safety organization. In a letter sent in March to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the American Hospital Association called the workforce shortage hospitals were experiencing a “national emergency,” projecting the overall shortage of nurses to reach 1.1 million by the end of the year. And it’s not just nurses: Professionals from medical lab workers to paramedics are in short supply. The effects are being felt throughout the entire care continuum. In certain parts of the country, while hospitals and medical departments have shuttered amid such shortfalls, leaving patients with less access to vital health care, including labor and delivery services and inpatient care for children With fewer clinicians working in the field, practitioners are finding themselves responsible for a larger number of patients, fueling soaring burnout levels that experts say raise the risk of medical errors and, consequently, potential harm to Americans. The number of central line-associated bloodstream infections increased 28% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, while rates of falls rose by 17% and pressure injuries increased by nearly 42% at skilled nursing facilities during the same period. And the strain hasn’t let up. A February 2022 survey conducted by USA Today and ISOs; of more than 1,100 health care workers found nearly a quarter of respondents said they were likely to leave the field in the near future due to the pandemic. Low morale has already translated into departures. Results of a September 2021 poll of 1,000 health care workers revealed that, since February 2020, 18% had quit their jobs. Patients are feeling the sting in several ways. In January 2022, Saint Alfons; Health System – a primary care provider for a region with a population of more than 1 million in Idaho and parts of Oregon – decided to temporarily close weekend operations at three of its urgent care centers and cut back hours at all 11 of its urgent care clinics for a couple of weeks when several staff members contracted COVID-19 and had to isolate. Though the situation has since normalized there, sudden, temporary staff losses have become par for the course during a pandemic that has sickened workers across all corners of the health care landscape. Other staff cutbacks have been more permanent. In April 2022, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County, in Rawling, Wyoming, announced it was ending its labor and delivery services due to staffing challenges. Now, the closest facility for expectant parents is about an hour and a half away at Vinson; Memorial Hospital, in Laramie, Wyoming. “The cost of traveling nurses has played a significant role” in the decision, said Rod Waeckerlin, chair of the MHCC Board of Trustees, in a press release. “Labor and Delivery is a unique service line that requires intensive staffing. Unfortunately, as a result of the pandemic, MHCC has lost much nursing; a good deal of nursing number, forcing a reliance on traveling nurses and creating a financial imbalance operationally.” The escalating demand for health care professionals has also led to a sharp rise in labor costs, as hospitals vying for workers must dangle larger pay packages.