Hospitals are in better shape now than in the spring, with more knowledge of how to handle COVID-19 and bigger stockpiles of protective equipment. Still, nurses worry about staffing shortages and unfilled jobs.
COVID-19’s toll weighs heavily on nurses, who can suffer stress and other psychological problems if they don’t believe they are able to help their patients sufficiently.
A shortage of nurses has turned hospital staffing into a sort of national bidding war, with hospitals willing to pay exorbitant wages to secure the nurses they need. That threatens to shift the supply of nurses toward more affluent areas.
As the coronavirus surges around the country, workers in nursing homes and assisted living centers are watching cases rise in long-term care facilities with a sense of dread. Many of these workers struggle with grief over the suffering they’ve witnessed.
Frequently employed by staffing agencies based in other states, nurses and other healthcare professionals can find themselves working through crisis without advocates or adequate safety equipment.
COVID-19 infections and quarantines are pulling health professionals off the front lines, exacerbating staffing woes that existed in large, rural states well before the pandemic.
The measure caps one of the most contentious health policy debates in recent memory, potentially altering how Californians get their medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it.