Workforce

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration needs to better handle whistleblower complaints amid the potential for greater delays in closing investigations during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Inspector General. 

New York is the state with the most healthcare workers whose deaths have been independently confirmed, according to a new interactive database from Kaiser Family Foundation's Kaiser Health News and The Guardian.

Most nurses in New York and Illinois hospitals were burned out and working in understaffed conditions before the first surge of COVID-19 cases, according to a study published Aug. 18 in BMJ Quality & Safety. 

Nearly 17 percent of nurse practitioners have been furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 4 percent were still furloughed at the end of July, according to a national survey from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Some clinicians who develop COVID-19 say their employers are pressuring them to return to work before they have fully recovered, reports Kaiser Health News.

In the U.S., only 3,927 emergency physicians (8 percent) practice in rural areas, a new analysis reveals. 

Whether it is retraining physicians to care for respiratory patients or protecting staff wellbeing, unparalleled workforce challenges have confronted hospital leaders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aetna is planning on having most of its employees work from home through at least the start of 2021, according to the Hartford Courant. 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois formally opened its new office on Chicago's South Side Aug. 10.

Most states are at risk for healthcare worker shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including a number of states predicted to face shortages in intensive care unit physicians, according to the Aug. 7 update of the Mullan Institute State Hospital Workforce Deficit…