“Because we are short on nurses right now, one thing we’re doing to ensure patient safety and quality of care is to limit some of the beds that we’re using so we can ensure appropriate patient to nurse care ratios,” Lori Wightman, MSN, DNP, RN, Regional Health’s CNO, told KOTA.
Depending on the day, Rapid City Regional Hospital has closed 10 to 20 beds due to staffing shortages, though Dr. Wightman called closing beds the “absolute last resort.”
The hospital is using travel nurses while it works to build its team.
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