Becker's Hospital Review

79 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY National union blames hospitals for staffing crisis; hospitals point to pandemic challenges By Kelly Gooch T he nation's largest union and pro- fessional association of registered nurses is blaming hospitals for creating a staffing crisis. However, hospi- tals are disputing the claim and pointing to challenges workers are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In an Aug. 26 news release, National Nurs- es United alleged there is a shortage of nurses willing to work in the unsafe and unsustainable conditions that it says hos- pitals impose on healthcare workers. e union, which reports a nationwide membership of more than 175,000 nurses, claims hospitals are driving nurses away from direct patient care by refusing to staff its units with enough nurses to provide such care safely and optimally. Furthermore, National Nurses United contends hospitals often cancel or "call off " contracted nurses who are sched- uled to work, will send nurses home who have reported for their scheduled shifts, are not hiring or are hiring at a slow pace and will end contracts with travel or agency nurses. "Many nurses have made the difficult de- cision to stop providing hands-on nursing care in order to protect themselves, their nursing licenses, their families and their patients," the union wrote. Overall, the union, which has supported minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, said it wants hospitals to hire more staff and improve working conditions so nurs- es will return to direct care. Hospitals refute the union's acc- usations, which did not name any particular organization. In an Aug. 27 statement, Federation of American Hospitals President and CEO Chip Kahn said the union "must be ex- periencing a different reality than the rest of us. All over the country stressed front- line caregivers, including nurses, are per- forming valiantly in the face of an ongoing tragedy. But the truth is these heroes are in short supply." Mr. Kahn said hospitals are making every possible effort to ensure they are provid- ing the best care for patients, as well as meeting the challenge to ensure ade- quate staffing and necessary protective equipment and supplies. "But, to deny the headwinds we are facing with staffing reflects a regrettable lack of understanding of the unimaginable stress- es the COVID-19 pandemic continues to place on caregivers, hospitals and the pa- tients that depend on us," he said. In a separate statement, Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, the American Hospital Asso- ciation's senior vice president and chief nursing officer, and the CEO of the Amer- ican Organization for Nursing Leadership, said hospital and health system leaders have used various approaches to recruit, retain and support their workforce, and have advocated that Congress and federal officials prioritize programs such as schol- arships and loan repayment for nurses and nursing faculty. She also pointed to the work of healthcare employees during the last year and a half. "Along with clinical and administrative leaders in our field, they [the workers] have worked tirelessly and courageously day in and day out to care for patients in their communities. ey have taken on unimagined challenges and have risen to the occasion time and time again, all while confronting numerous challeng- es outside the control of hospitals and health systems, including changing vari- ants of the virus like the delta variant, an underfunded public health infrastruc- ture, changing guidance from author- ities, and the politicization of masking and vaccines, to name just a few exam- ples," said Dr. Begley. Amid the pandemic wave driven by the delta variant, "our healthcare workers' crucial life-saving roles have never been more evident, which is why their safe- ty, protection and well-being, including mental health, remain a top priority," she said. n QAnon supporters flood Chicago hospital with calls to administer ivermectin By Molly Gamble A dvocates of conspiracy group QAnon coordinated demands for physicians at Amita Resur- rection Medical Center in Chicago to administer ivermectin to a follower of the online movement hospitalized with COVID-19, the Chicago Sun- Times reported. Beginning Sept. 6, QAnon support- ers contacted the hospital with hun- dreds of phone calls and emails de- manding that a follower of the group hospitalized with COVID-19 receive ivermectin. Six to eight people ar- rived at the medical center Sept. 6, but a demonstration did not materi- alize, Olga Solares, spokesperson for Amita Health, told Becker's. The FDA has not authorized or ap- proved ivermectin for use in prevent- ing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals, and Amita Resurrection is not using the antiparasitic drug for treatment of the virus. Ms. Solares said hospital staff "han- dled the influx of communication in a professional manner." She shared the following statement with Becker's: "At Amita Health our first priority is the health and safety of our patients. Our physicians and clinicians follow the full guidance of the FDA and the CDC in the treatment of COVID-19. And while Amita Health Resurrection Med- ical Center received numerous phone calls and emails (well into the hun- dreds) associated with this patient's care, we have simply and respectfully noted the concerns shared." The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a flyer for the demonstration circulated on the messaging app Telegram said the patient had been hospitalized at Amita Resurrection for two weeks with "COVID pneumonia." The flyer said a physician who initially agreed to ad- minister ivermectin later reversed the decision because Amita Resurrection sided with public health experts. n

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