Exhausted and Overworked: The Healthcare Workers of America
As of Saturday, November 21, 2020, the United States has reached 254,000 confirmed deaths of COVID-19. Whether or not you believe this number is inflated, politicized, or overlooked, the lives we’ve lost and each lonely passing marks this year with grief and strife. Countless family members and old friends have dealt with passings and the third wave shows no signs of stopping. The empty chairs at dining tables can never be filled again. Although we all share the grief, small or large, there is a larger group that shoulders it all. Awake early in the morning and leaving late at night; fighting for the lives of others before their own. Exhausted and overworked, the healthcare workers of America.
Actress June Diane Raphael shared a tweet on November 15th including screenshots of text messages from her best friend, who Raphael states is a pulmonary and critical care doctor. In the messages, Raphael’s friend lists anecdotes and details of the despairing times she faces as a frontline worker, upfront and truthful. “Tomorrow will be my 10th day working.” “I expect at least half of [my patients] to die but probably not for an average of 1-3 weeks (which they will spend alone in the hospital).” “We are overflowing our units. We are short staffed.”
These feelings are surely not isolated. According to a September survey from Primary Care Collaborative, more than 50% of clinicians said their mental and or emotional exhaustion is at an all-time high. Workers, presently dealing with more than double the amount of patients they are used to, report exhaustion from constant high alert work. Dr. Susan R. Bailey, the president of the American Medical Association, states that there is a concern for PTSD to develop in healthcare workers because of the stress that they deal with when taking care of patients. She says there’s an arising attitude among healthcare workers and practitioners to “hunker-down,” or settle for less, as well.
As stated by the same September survey, 54% of clinicians have experienced pandemic-related furloughs and layoffs. 19% report other clinicians in their practice have retired early because of COVID-19, or are planning on it. Some of these workers are older, and have already decided to leave to protect their health or attend to family obligations. A few of them have been financially pulled out of practice, like Dr. Kelly McGregory, whose pediatric practice opened in 2018 and has since closed after her husband found a new job in a different state. Others have had to leave their bankrupt hospitals, for example, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Ashland, Kentucky and Williamson Hospital in West Virginia; they are just two of dozens. Overall, hospitals estimate a net loss of $323 billion in revenue from this year, most of this figure coming from cancellations. Healthcare workers are being stretched thin and forced from their jobs, but they are still fighting and trying to do what is right.
A bankrupt hospital is a worst-case scenario: less care, less treatment, less locations to send patients. Especially in rural areas, where hospitals are sparse, patients may have to cross state lines to be looked at. These filings have been coming from and are still coming from the increasing prices of PPE, the increasing prices of overall care, and high losses of revenue.
In the Bronx, New York, nurses at Montefiore Hospital marched from their work to the cemetery to protest the insufficient personal protective equipment, nurse Michelle Gonzalez stating, “we are not ready [to face a second wave].” At the end of their march, the workers placed roses on the ground to memorialize their patients who had passed from coronavirus. New York state alone accounts for 33,000 deaths. "We cannot allow the suffering and death of this community and our nurses went through in spring to happen again," Gonzalez said.
All they ask for is to wear a mask. “There is such a disconnect between the hospitals and the surrounding communities...I drive home stunned through a college town with lines out the doors for the local bars,” June Diane Raphael’s friend says in the text messages from Raphael’s tweet. The pandemic is far from over and death doesn’t care about anyone’s personal rights or discomfort in wearing a mask.
As Thanksgiving approaches, please follow the CDC’s guidelines for holiday celebrations: limit the number of guests as much as possible, host outdoor rather than indoor, make ventilation a priority if indoor, and reduce contact as much as you can. Continue to wear your mask and wash your hands. You are protecting yourself, your family and friends, your community, and of course, all of our healthcare workers.
Resources:
The CDC Holiday Celebrations and Small Gatherings COVID-19 Guide
Citations:
Abelson, Reed. “Doctors Are Calling It Quits Under Stress of the Pandemic.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/11/15/health/Covid-doctors-nurses-quitting.html
Eyewitness News. “Coronavirus Update New York City: Bronx Nurses March from Hospital to Cemetery to Protest Lack of PPE.” ABC7 New York, WABC-TV, 20 Nov. 2020, abc7ny.com/montefiore-hospital-nurse-protest-nyc-nurses-ppe/8118977/.
Wolf, Alex. “Hospital Bankruptcy Surge Looms as Virus Rages, Stimulus Lapses.” Bloomberg Law, 28 Oct. 2020, news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/hospital-bankruptcy-surge-looms-as-virus-rages-stimulus-lapses.