Another Surge of COVID-19 Infections

Published On - November 24, 2020

Kamana Health

As forecasted by countless scientific organizations and medical professionals, the cooler months, coupled with indoor holiday gatherings, is causing a surge of COVID-19 infections. Frontline workers are already exhausted and hospitals censuses are climbing with positive patients. 

COVID-19 U.S. Spread

Nearly a year since this global crisis began, the United States is still struggling to get ahead and contain the spread.  No longer isolated to a few major cities, the United States is septic. Local infections in large cities have spread to all 49 states, with rural, under-resourced towns hit the worst. The uptick in patient hospitalization and staffing shortages is a systemic problem.

With the number of hot spots growing quickly, it’s impossible for communities to support each other with this surge of COVID-19 infections. Whether it’s PPE for healthcare workers or shortages of healthcare workers themselves, resources are limited.

US COVID-19 Case Rate Reported to the CDC in the Last 7 Days, by State/Territory (cases per 100K)
[Last updated November 23, 2020] Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What does this mean for hospital staffing?


Hospitals face limited resources, which translates to staffing shortages, questionable short-term solutions, and poor patient care. According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce report “the nursing workforce will be facing a shortfall of roughly 200,000 nursing professionals by 2020.”  Folks, it is 2020 and we’re not in a great spot.

Did you know that nurses make up the largest portion of the clinical staff needed to run our nation’s healthcare infrastructure? Not only have we seen a steady decline of nursing school enrollments year over year, but Baby Boomers are retiring.  The average age of the Boomer generation correlates with the “at risk” age bracket outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so it’s no wonder why many have opted for an earlier and safer exit from the workforce.

Pandemic Futility


It’s hard to explain the daily emotional and physical drain that healthcare professionals are facing during this new surge of COVID-19 infections. Hospitals have seen and will continue to see staff attrition and burnout.  Healthcare professionals need time off after the recent months of being over worked and constantly stressed while fighting this pandemic. Unfortunately, time is something we don’t have, not for the staff and not for the virus.

  • Emotional strain of not being able to do enough. Healthcare professionals are in this role to help others in need, so watching those in need go without the care they deserve, and sometimes die, because of something avoidable, like adequate resources, is intensely difficult.
  • COVID patients are resource demanding. Though the COVID patient’s prognosis is improving as we learn to treat the disease, the demands associated with a critical patient with COVID has not decreased. These patients are requiring tons of staff, resource, and intensive care to reach that prognosis. 

Pandemic Mortality 

Okay, this is a dark thought, but we’ve all seen the headlines. Frontline workers make up nearly 20% of the COVID-19 mortality statistics. As of September 2020, National Nurses United cites data that 1,718 deaths are attributed to medical professionals that contracted COVID-19 from patients.

Pandemic Reality

Medical reasons aside, nurses and other healthcare professionals are forced to stay home from work due to the surge of COVID-19 infections in the same way many Americans are:

  • Kids are not in school, requiring some parents to stay home
  • Family members become ill and need care 
  • Others leave work for concern of contracting the virus
  • They contract the virus
  • Exposure requiring quarantine

3 Simple Steps for COVID-19 Job Matching

With extreme staffing shortages felt by hospitals across the county, it’s important that healthcare professionals are quickly and easily able to fill those positions. The faster help is able to apply and onboard, the faster we can get care to patients.

 

  1. Healthcare professionals create a free and secure profile with all the important credentials and resume information.
  2. Instantly get automated job matches based on skills and experience.
  3. Apply for a position with a single-click that shares your encrypted profile with the employer managing that job.
Get My COVID-19 Job Matches

Thank You.

The need for travel healthcare professionals is very real and very present. Hospitals are struggling to fill shortages and treat the increasing number of patients. As a healthcare professional, you’re in the spotlight and the United States is center stage.

On behalf of everyone at Kamana, thank you to all the healthcare professionals that are working so hard to keep us, our families, and our friends safe from the latest surge of Covid-19 infections. Please keep your spirits high and continue to fill those critically needed positions across the U.S. We applaud you. ♥