A mounting casualty of coronavirus crisis: Health care jobs

[SheltieLover]

[link:https://wreg.com/news/a-mounting-casualty-of-coronavirus-crisis-health-care-jobs/|

Clinical staff members being sent home are not treating coronavirus patients, or they have little to do in suddenly quiet offices and facilities where there is no crisis, the institutions’ leaders say.

“But they may be in areas where there will be growth in the virus, which makes layoffs particularly alarming, because hospitals are gearing up or should be gearing up even in places where coronavirus is not an emergency as it in other parts of the country,” said Tricia Neuman, who directs the Medicare policy program at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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He’s not sure how he would sign up to help in areas slammed by the virus, and his employer didn’t give him any guidance, he said.

“That’s the problem with the for-profit health care system,” Hlumyk said, citing the tendency of hospitals to compete for resources instead of share them.

Emphasis added is mine.

Speaks volumes.

[gibraltar72]

1. My local hospital laid off most help as they can't do electives

The folks in my right wing county think its a way to get some Gummint money. They don't tell us how many Covid patients they have but they must have some as we have 37 cases and two deaths so far. As of 10:00 AM.

[crickets]

2. This is so stupid.

This country is in an all hands on deck situation. What the hell?

“That’s the problem with the for-profit health care system,” Hlumyk said, citing the tendency of hospitals to compete for resources instead of share them.

Damn skippy. This is also what happens when there is no decent leadership at the top, and when the pandemic team that would have been organizing our response is gone.

[3catwoman3]

3. I have been the peds nurse practitioner in a private practice...

...for almost 24 years. A week ago Thursday, I told I was being furloughed for a minimum of 6 weeks, starting this week, preceded by a week of not being on the schedule. The practice employs 9 pediatricians and me. 8 of the 9 docs are partners, and they are all still working, although at reduced hours. The one non-partner pediatrician and I are the only ones who have been furloughed.

2 of our 3 locations are doing well visits only. People don’t even want to come in for those.

I was planning to retire in 2021. I may just say “Screw it,” and leave sooner. Maybe collect a few unemployment checks first, after so many years of paying into the system.

It’s hard not to feel unimportant when something like this happens.