Experts say health care system feeling massive strain due to COVID-related departure of thousands of nurses
NEW YORK -- As the pandemic transitions to what officials see as an endemic, some of the damage done over the past 24 months will take years to undo.
The health care system is still reeling from the strain of COVID-19, as thousands of nurses left the profession.
CBS2's Jessica Moore looks into the dire shortage and what can be done to bridge the gap between the resources and the need.
Nurses at Maimonides Hospital in the Bronx recently protested what they called unsafe staffing shortages.
"Recently, I worked in a situation where there were only two RNs on the floor, only two RNs for a unit that used to have five RNs," one woman said.
"We need more help. This is not safe for us. This is not safe for the patients," another said.
Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 400,000 health care workers have either quit, retired, or died of COVID, leaving a gaping hole in one of the most crucial hospital positions.
Travel nurse Gilbert Banda spent months at hospitals across New York City while the virus raged.
"It was a lot of death. I've been a nurse for 16 years and I've never had to bag bodies after bodies," Banda said.
Pediatric ICU nurse Sheryl Leo told Moore her work is her passion, but it's not for the faint of heart.
"Standing there holding a patient's hand so they wouldn't be alone when they die. I personally experienced that and it stays with you," Leo said.
Last month, hospitals in 18 states, including New York and New Jersey, reported critical staffing levels. Many nurses say they're burned out, underpaid and overworked.
"That's one of the biggest challenges on a daily basis. Maybe at most I'm supposed to have one or two patients, but then I have three and there are three sick patients and I just don't feel like I can give 100 percent like what I want to give. That's another reason people get frustrated and burned out. It makes you feel defeated," Leo said.
Hospitals typically staff 60-70 percent nurses and bring in travel nurses to bridge the gap as needed. During the pandemic those numbers skyrocketed. One travel nurse agency says Bronx hospitals employed 39 percent travel nurses in 2020 and increased to 74 percent in 2021.
Experts say it's a pipeline problem.
"An entire generation of Baby Boomer nurses with great experience are retiring. At the same time nursing schools don't have enough teachers because that same population is retiring. That means not just nurses but educators, too, to bring up that next group of nursing students coming out of school," said Lauren Pasquale-Bartlett, VP of marketing for Ingenovis.
To make matters worse, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 17 percent more nurses are needed every year to fill the chronic shortage, but only 4 percent of students are studying to become nurses.
"Which is why it's more critical than ever for us right now to be encouraging young people -- high school kids, college kids -- to consider a health care profession, because need is greater and shortage is worse," Pasquale-Bartlett said.
Nurses switching careers tend to seek out jobs that bring less stress and more money.
"Just the value of what you do ... you should be compensated for what you do," Leo said.
If the pandemic has taught us anything about the health care profession, it's the value of those who care for us when we need it most.