Nurse shortages in California reaching crisis point

Bakersfield.com ^ | August 29, 2021 | KRISTEN HWANG

[Vendome]

In the past month, four emergency room nurses ... have quit at the Eureka hospital where Matt Miele works.

Around California — and the nation — nurses are trading in high-pressure jobs for a career change, early retirement or less demanding assignments, leading to staffing shortages in many hospitals.

But burnout isn’t the only thing compounding California’s nursing shortage: The state’s new vaccine mandate for health care workers is already causing headaches for understaffed hospitals before it is even implemented. Some traveling nurses — who are in high demand nationwide — are turning down California assignments because they don’t want to get vaccinated.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order reinstating emergency provisions aimed at ensuring adequate staffing. In part, the order allows health care workers from out of state to work in California.

Before the pandemic, nursing shortages were common in most areas of the state, according to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

The staffing shortage is so severe that Scripps Health is considering temporarily consolidating some of its outpatient centers. Scripps...told CalMatters that it is serving nearly 20 percent more patients on average than before the pandemic.

“Out of ratio” means that a nurse is assigned too many patients. California is the only state that caps the number of patients that can be assigned to a single nurse. Under state requirements, for instance, an ICU nurse can have no more than two patients and an emergency room nurse, no more than four.

“One hospital told us they had 474 unvaccinated employees. They did a big education and incentive push. Only 12 people signed up,” said Richardson, the hospital association’s attorney.

[Vendome]

It just gets better /S:
"However, some nurses also are wary of the COVID-19 vaccine. Some nurses with large social media followings have participated in protests in Southern California, arguing that the mandates violate their personal freedom."

Cole of Scripps Health said the state’s testing requirement, imposed last week, already has discouraged some out-of-state, traveling nurses from taking temporary jobs at California hospitals.

“If they don’t want to get vaccinated, they are turning down California assignments,” he said.

Traveling nurses in high demand
To contend with local shortages, hospitals are increasingly turning to hiring temporary, traveling nurses from around the country.

 

[americas.best.days...]

Proud of My Girls (and boys)

[Harpotoo]

Next will be our military!!!

[mewzilla]

Let’s see....

CDC employees don’t have to get a vaxx. Neither do FDA, WH, USPS, or even employees of some of the vaxx manufacturers.

Note to refusenik healthcare workers: You’re in good company, aren’t you...

[lightman]

Artificial “shortage” created by the unintended consequences of vaccine mandates.

[BenLurkin]

Some nurses don’t want to get vaccinated.

What do they know that the rest of us aren’t being told?

[Vendome]

Zactly....

[lurk]

A manufactured crisis. Get the vax or get sacked. Oh dear, we have a nurse shortage.

We are at the intersection of dumb and evil.

[fruser1]

“ICU nurse can have no more than two patients”

Is this a union pushed thing? Whenever I’ve been in an ICU as a visitor, I never seen nurses hovering over a patient half-time.

Any med folks out there that can explain this?

[1Old Pro]

all predictable

[metmom]

Any medical professional who has been working with Covid patients for the last year and a half has got to have dynamite immunity against it by now.

Requiring a vax for them is ludicrous.

[mewzilla]

They don’t need to be told anything.

If they’re nurses, they can read. :-)

[DIRTYSECRET]

Important them from the Philippines. English speaking, pretty, and they defer to men. American feminists will settle for the muzzies woving in.

[mewzilla]

Requiring a vaxx without doing a titer first seems to me to be really insane.

Except that CoupFlu has NEVER been about public health.

[rktman]

Geeeeez. If they’d just get the shot they’d be welcome back I’m sure. Or they can tell the admins to kiss their collective butts and drop the mandates.

[EBH]

that they actually paid attention in their biology courses?

Seriously...this pandemic has laid bare the lack of scientific understanding and methods in the American population.

For a population to be so ingrained to be germophobic it is amazing how little actual understanding there is to our relationship with the microscopic world.

[heartwood]

Shortage years in the making. Hospitals and universities not willing to take on cost of nursing programs, pay nurse instructors adequately, accept cost of training newly graduated nurses, at least a three month paired preceptorship.

Big Healthcare would rather cry shortage to congress, ask for more visas, than invest in training. Like any other industry.

When my mother was in ICU, nurses were saying they just wanted enough hours to get benefits. When she was in vent facility, nurses were stretched thin, six total care vent patients for each nurse.

[dragnet2]

Everything these leftist do, turns to s**t.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

I work in healthcare I’ve had covid, I’m not getting the vaccine.

[Dave911]

DUH!