Category: Workforce

The most recent COVID-19 surge amid the spread of the omicron variant has sidelined healthcare workers for reasons related to the coronavirus.

CMS has released guidance and survey procedures related to its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for eligible staff at healthcare facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs.

More than 3,000 caregivers across the Cleveland Clinic health system were out with COVID-19 as of Dec. 30, a spokesperson told Becker’s. 

Three-fourths of healthcare facilities in the U.S. are seeking temporary allied healthcare professionals, mainly to fill gaps while permanent workers are being hired, according to a Dec. 29 survey from AMN Healthcare.

Sixteen states are experiencing critical staffing shortages in at least 25 percent of their hospitals, according to HHS data posted Dec. 28.

Pennsylvania hospitals will receive strike teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to relieve capacity strains at hospitals in areas hit hardest by the latest COVID-19 surge, acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter confirmed Dec. 28.

From employee departures to hospital policies and requirement suspensions, stories about COVID-19 vaccination mandates dominated the top workforce stories that captured the interest of readers this year.

West Virginia will use $48 million in federal CARES Act funding to support a new program targeting nursing education, retention and recruitment, Gov. Jim Justice said Dec. 21. 

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads, about a quarter of executive leaders are delaying their workplace reopening plans.

Amid a COVID-19 surge in the state, nurses in Minnesota are pleading with hospital CEOs and public officials to address what they describe as a staffing and retention crisis inside facilities.