Written by: Andrew Morris
The onset of the Delta strain is continuing to stretch hospital staff thin. Last December, the Coronavirus spike highlighted the weakness in California’s medical force, as many nurses were working tirelessly, almost without a break. Due to this, many medical staff members left their positions. As the Delta variant continues its course with a much higher infection rate, the problem looks even bleaker.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Scripts Medical has reported almost a 20% increase in patients throughout their five hospitals in San Diego. Simultaneously, there has been a 57% increase in staff positions. Nursing positions alone have had a 96% increase in vacancies since this period.
Emotions are running high as a significant number of ICU patients have passed, even under the care of nurses and top professionals. One nurse named Janet Stovall has voiced her own experiences with the crisis, telling Cal Matters:
“We took care of about 65 COVID patients in Brawley and not a single one made it,” Stovall said. “We coded one every night… Before (COVID-19), you could make a difference in someone’s life. Now I will do anything for a patient, and it does not make a difference. …Three days later, they don’t make it.”
Newsom has since signed an executive order that essentially allows health care workers from out of state to work in California. However, the recent vaccination mandate that goes into effect on September 30 may limit the nurses from out of state due to their vaccination status.
As of now, California is right behind Texas in the number of posted hospital positions, and under Newsom’s guidance, there is little hope of it getting better.
Photo from: Jaime Jacob
