January 11, 2022 – Staff shortages due rising COVID-19 rates among nurses and other healthcare workers at the Mass General Brigham hospital system (Boston, MA) caused 83 beds to remain empty last week. Other health systems across the country like The University Hospitals system (Ohio) and Parkland Health & Hospital System (Dallas, TX) have cut beds by up to 16%, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
This is a last resort for hospitals, but the labor market has made finding staffing replacements difficult. Staffing strains have worsened after some nurses retired early or left to work for traveling nurse agencies. Doctors are moving fast to discharge patients to free up beds and National Guard members, volunteers and relief workers are being employed to fill the void.