COVID-19 and the Health Workforce 10/06-10/19

(10/13/2021) Federal Judge Refuses to Block Maine Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers
This article reports the first judicial decision in which a federal judge has decided that Maine does not have to allow health-care workers to refuse vaccinations because of religious beliefs. Nine workers sued the state to request a religious exemption of vaccination, which would have temporarily halted the mandate, but the court rejected it. The judge wrote that “Reducing the risk of adverse medical consequences for a high-risk segment of the population is essential to achieving the public health objective of the vaccine mandate.”

(10/13/2021) Many Minnesota Health Care Workers Fighting Vaccine Mandate Have Received Exemptions
In Minnesota, many health care workers who filed a lawsuit to stop the mandate have received a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. While Judge Nancy Brasel of the US District Court rejected the health care employees’ request for an injunction to prevent their employers from implementing the vaccination requirement, as one of the attorneys who represent the health care workers said, 70% of the plaintiffs have already obtained a vaccination exemption, mainly for religious reasons.

(10/07/21) Beyond the Byline: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Test Hospitals’ Culture
In this Modern Healthcare podcast, Senior Hospital Operations Reporter Alex Kacik, staffing reporter Ginger Chirst, and editor Jeffery Young discuss COVID-19 vaccine mandates and staffing issues.

(10/07/21) Thousands of Home Health Workers May Lose Jobs as NY’s Vaccine Mandate Looms. What to Know
As New York’s vaccine mandate approaches, thousands of New York home health care workers are at risk of losing their jobs. The vaccine mandate is for 270,000 home health care service workers, and according to a survey conducted in September by the Home Care Health Association of New York, nearly 12,000 of those say they would rather quit or be fired than get vaccinated.

(10/18/21) Rebuilding the Nation’s Health Care Workforce During and After COVID-19: Lessons From Disaster Management
This perspective piece published by STAT offers an emergency medicine physician’s views on the strain COVID-19 has placed on the health care workforce as well as some solutions to recover and rebuild.

(10/08/21) Webinar on COVID-19’s Impact on Rural Health Workforce is Oct. 14
A new report examines the impact of COVID-19 on the rural health workforce in Illinois and offers recommendations to better utilize the current health workforce. Recommendations include: providing incentives and opportunities to recruit and retain a rural health workforce, building rural community health workforce collaborations between the public health and healthcare to improve service delivery, and utilizing telehealth in rural areas to improve medical and behavioral health specialists.

(10/14/21) Biden Admin to Invest $100M to Address Health Care Worker Shortage
The Biden administration announced this week that it will invest $100 million to the National Health Service Corps to further address the health care worker shortage. The program will help primary care doctors in rural communities and low income areas that have a hard time with recruitment and retention. The announcement was made after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the United States lost 17,500 health care employees in September.

(10/14/21 ) Few COVID-displaced Direct Care Workers Return: Study
A new study by PHI and the Health Workforce Research Center on Long-term Care at the University of California, San Francisco finds that 4% of direct care workers were displaced during the second quarter of 2020. The study also found that few displaced workers from other occupations transitioned into direct care. According to the study, low wages are the primary reason for the lack of movement into direct care worker jobs.

(10/07/21) Ghost Towns: Nursing Home Staffing Falls Amid Pandemic
An article that examines the impact lower staffing has had on nursing homes during the pandemic. Although Federal law requires nursing homes to have sufficient staff to meet the needs of the residents, interpretations of what this entails are left to the states. Most US nursing home facilities don’t meet the Federal law requirements.

(10/14/21) WHO Planning New Network to Connect Nurses Across the Globe
The World Health Organization is creating a virtual network where nurses and midwives can share information, knowledge, and unique ideas on a global level. As burnout and mental health concerns continue to be a major issue during the pandemic, the virtual network will also allow a space for the nurses and midwives to support one another.

(10/14/21) STUDY: 88% of Clinical Support Staff Experiencing Significant Burnout
A Well Health study found that 88% of clinical Support staff are experiencing extreme burnout. Two-thirds of the clinical staff surveyed have contemplated quitting their jobs and 49 percent say that COVID-19 has made their jobs more difficult.

(10/05/21) At Pandemic Peak, 1 in 3 Resident Doctors in NYC Experienced Burnout
Kaplan study finds that 1 in 3 Doctors in New York City experienced burnout. Results came from an electronic survey distributed during April and May 2020 to health care workers at Mount Sinai Hospital. Nearly 36 percent of the 560 respondents screened positive to “burnout.” Nearly 30 percent of the respondents screened positive to psychiatric disorder from the pandemic.

(10/04/2021) Nearly 1 in 5 Health Care Workers Have Quit Their Jobs During the Pandemic
A new Morning Consult survey that polled a 1,000 health care workers finds that nearly 20 percent of healthcare professional have quit their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. 31% of the health care workers who have kept their jobs during the pandemic have considered leaving, and 79% of health care workers have stated that the national worker shortage has affected their jobs. This is a follow-up to a survey conducted in January 2021.

(10/13/2021) Florida Nursing Schools Need More Funding, Faculty to Prevent a Nearly 60,000 Nurse Shortfall by 2035, FHA Report Says
A report from the Florida Center for Nursing suggested that, by 2035, Florida may experience a nursing shortage of 59,100. The already-existing need for new nurses will be exacerbated by Florida’s aging population and anticipated expansion. According to the report, many nursing schools lack the resources or finances to grow. For example, nearly 200 candidates were turned down by Seminole State College of Florida’s nursing school. Over 200 eligible candidates were turned down by the University of Central Florida for the 2020-21 academic year.