US hospitals struggle with staffing shortages and Omicron outbreaks

In a matter of weeks, Omicron has become the dominant variant in the United States. It accounts for 73% of sequenced cases, six times higher than last week. As the holidays approach, officials and experts warn of an unmanageable crush of patients and potentially catastrophic staffing shortages.

The American Nurses Association is urging US officials to declare the nursing shortage a national crisis, and the American College of Emergency Physicians has expressed concerns the shortage will affect patient care.

Even before Omicron, the situation was growing dire as hospitals grappled with a Thanksgiving surge in cases.

Nearly two years into the coronavirus outbreak, nurses, doctors, specialists and other key health workers are exhausted. In April, 55% of front-line health workers reported feeling burned out. They frequently face harassment and frustration at work.

Recently, a child came into her hospital with a broken arm. An orthopedic surgeon was ready to operate, but there were no nurses available to assist in the procedure. The child had to wait for 10 hours.

She had Covid before, early in the pandemic, and it wiped her out for a week and a half. She had to wear a cardiac monitor for two weeks because of heart complications. She was eager to get vaccinated, and received her first shot on the first day vaccines were available in the US. Those vaccines cut her illness short and kept her out of the hospital.

The national guard may also be deployed in areas with overwhelmed health systems.

In March 2020, in the face of many unknowns about treating the virus and massive testing delays, we were encouraged to stay home and flatten the curve. But Benjamin doubts that will happen again.