Second Group Of Traveling Nurses And Medical Staff Arrives In North Texas
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — There's a second group of traveling nurses and other staff arriving in North Texas.
The president and CEO of the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council, Stephen Love said they could use the help.
"We are getting a second group over and above what he had thought," Love said. "How many were going to end up with we've got to see."
As the surge in COVID-19 cases continues to put a strain on hospital staff, health care systems across North Texas are looking for more staff.
"We were really kind of understaffed even before this latest surge with Omicron, but now many of our own workers are testing positive and they're having to isolate or quarantine for five or six days, which further reduces the work force," Love said.
We asked if the recent change in quarantine instructions going from 10 days to five days of isolation has helped when it comes to staffing.
"10 days versus five days has been a big help," Love said.
Earlier this month, North Texas had about 1,000 travel nurses come into town to help current staff. Love said when it comes to staffing, they must put each person in their specific specialty.
"For example, they may have labor and delivery nurses, they may have critical care nurses, and we have to put them in the area that they come," Love said.
During these surges, Love said larger hospitals in the Metroplex are also taking in transfer patients from other counties here in Texas. He said he hasn't received word about any transfers from Oklahoma following reports of some cities there reaching capacity with ICU beds.
As far as the second group of travel nurses and staff, some of them started Thursday, January 20.