The resurgence of COVID-19 is putting stress on staffing at hospitals across the U.S., with nearly a quarter of facilities anticipating a shortage, according to HHS data obtained by The Atlantic.
Three staffing takeaways from the data, as reported by The Atlantic:
- Nineteen percent of U.S. hospitals (958) faced a staffing shortage from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11.
- Twenty-two percent of U.S. hospitals (1,109) reported this week that they anticipate a staffing shortage.
- More than 35 percent of hospitals in eight states — Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin — expect a staffing shortage this week.
With staffing shortages exacerbated due to the COVID-19 resurgence, hospitals have taken various steps to address the issue. For instance, Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare is hiring about 200 traveling nurses, and North Dakota is allowing COVID-19-positive healthcare workers who are asymptomatic to continue working in COVID-19 hospital units and nursing homes.
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