With the state deadlines for health workers to get fully vaccinated getting closer, hospitals across the country are bracing themselves for staff shortages. The healthcare officials have gone through a rough time during the second wave, tending to so many patients and having to do long hours for the welfare of society.
As they were recovering with a bit of reduction in the Covid cases across the country, new issues have arrived for them as they are going to get burdened with work again.
Hospitals Fears On Running Low Staff As Deadline Of Getting Vaccinated Is Nearer
This issue was inevitable if the healthcare workers themselves didn’t respond in a positive manner to the state guidelines for the safety of all. Several states like New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut had issued an ultimatum for their healthcare workers to get vaccinated before the deadline or they would lose their jobs.
While a majority of the workers, as well as the public, are in support of the state guideline, no one knows how things will pan out, but the fear amongst the hospital administrations is that if things don’t turn out well, it would lead to the exacerbation of an already existing staff shortage.
The hospitals need to maintain a 100% vaccinated workforce as it is necessary that those who tend to the patients themselves don’t become super spreaders. Hospital is an area full of people who are vulnerable to any virus, due to weak immunity.
If any staff member contacts the virus, he or she may not be affected by it as such, but they can unknowingly become a spreader, thereby endangering others. This is a risk that the administration of various states can’t afford to take, thus leaving any choice for the healthcare workers.
There are hospitals like the Erie County Medical Corp. in Buffalo who have put around 5% of its workforce on unpaid leave for not being vaccinated. Some hospitals have also begun removing unvaccinated staff from their system in order to follow the state requirements.
There are dozens of hospitals that have issued vaccine mandates in the last few weeks for all their employees, be it old or young. There have been exemptions on medical or religious grounds, but such employees have to submit to regular Covid testing.
There are contingency plans in place by various hospitals which involve cutting back on non-critical services and limiting nursing home admissions in order to manage the resources in the most efficient manner. Many hospitals are already suffering a staff shortage with workers quitting as a result of burnout or faltering to the increased daily pressure and workload during the peak of the pandemic waves.
In Rhode Island, the vaccine mandate takes effect on Friday, and the state authorities have allowed workers a 30-day extension in cases where firing them on spot would affect the patients in the hospital.
Nurses in hospitals feel that these mandates are an insult for them as even though they realize the importance of getting vaccinated yet taking away their choice as to if they are not intelligent enough to make that decision for themselves seems insulting.
About 84% of the hospital workers and 89% of Nursing home workers in New York are fully vaccinated. The city has a 95% vaccination rate for nurses and a higher rate for nurses.
In Missouri, the Mercy Hospital system has asked its workers to get vaccinated in its medical centers and clinics at the earliest, else they would be placed on an unpaid 30-day suspension. This could lead to a severe staff shortage for which preparing beforehand won’t be easy either.
