Newly-imposed COVID-19 mandates could hurt staffing numbers at hospitals throughout the state, according to industry professionals.
The state, which is already suffering a nursing shortage, has witnessed a spread of vaccine mandates in hospitals and other medical facilities.
“We’re short nurses. It’s very uncommon for me to walk into work in the last three weeks or so and to be fully staffed. It’s very common to be understaffed in the emergency department, intensive care unit, or the regular floor,” Dr. Frank LoVecchio, Arizona State University’s medical director of clinical and community translational research at its College of Health Solutions, told Fox 10 Phoenix.
“The difficulty is, it’s hard to keep somebody for just loyalty. They might accept the fact that they want to stay with your hospital – they like the staff. But they’re getting paid sometimes three times as much to work in another hospital just down the road and once you hit a certain number … it becomes more important to kind of make money. You can have a better quality of life.”
The state has continuously been plagued by a shortage of nurses. In September, the Associated Press reported, “An ongoing nursing shortage in Arizona will likely keep non-COVID-19 patients from quickly getting transferred to more equipped hospitals.”
The introduction of vaccine mandates could make the situation more drastic.
Earlier this year, healthcare workers in Tucson rallied at Tucson Medical Center to protest vaccine mandates.
“I’m here as a voice for somebody who does see it first hand who just encourages people they can make their own decisions and do what feels right for them and not be forced,” Registered Nurse Carrie Silvers told KVOA. “Nurses need to know, do not quit your jobs, do not take the shot, stand together.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
