Healthcare workers kept at home by coronavirus infections amid latest surge
Hospital workers and other healthcare employees have been getting infected with the coronavirus in rising numbers as cases skyrocket in Los Angeles County, compounding staff shortages at medical centers amid the latest wave of the pandemic.
hospitals would ordinarily send discharged patients are unable to take them in because of staff shortfalls. And ambulances have been delayed getting to 911 callers and face longer waits at hospitals to unload patients, county officials said. Lucia said that if Falck’s units weren’t tied up at hospitals, they would have enough resources to reach callers quicker. But EMT Ryan Walters, president of the International Assn. of EMTs and Paramedics Local R12-370, called the situation “a predictable outcome of the pandemic and the wages and working conditions of our members.”
But big surges in cases can nonetheless wreak havoc on hospitals if lots of healthcare workers get infected — even with mild cases — and have to stay home to keep others from getting sick. Hospitals can try to hire traveling nurses from agencies, but “everybody’s searching in the same pool,” Blackstone said.
“Can it be remedied? I think so,” Kennedy said. She argued that hospitals need to improve working conditions and ensure nurses are properly supplied. “Provide us with optimal PPE. Ensure that there’s testing.” “They were clearly understaffed,” Talmadge said. “There were times when it just seemed like no one was there.”
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