What an indictment of our healthcare system. Most of these rural hospitals that are firing workers have long been understaffed; they would have been understaffed once COVID-19 hit them even if they hadn’t fired their healthcare workers in preparation for the onslaught. Rural residents are going to be left to die on their own at home soon, once COVID-19 hits their areas and their ever-shrinking hospital staff are overwhelmed. It’s outrageously shortsighted, callous, and cruel of these hospitals’ administrators to further reduce their capacity by furloughing, reassigning, and cancelling employment contracts of healthcare workers due to their temporary lack of profitability:
As the battle against COVID-19 ramps up across the nation, health care professionals at small and rural hospitals are getting furloughed, reassigned and told their employment contracts are canceled.
Leanne Helmerich is one of 600 staff members furloughed at Hillcrest Medical System in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. She's out of a job after the hospital announced staff reductions Monday, hoping to consolidate resources during the coronavirus pandemic. She won't be back until the "need arises."….
Reports of similar stories have surfaced in rural communities across America's heartland in particular. Mountain Health Network has furloughed the majority of their 6,000 employees at hospitals throughout West Virginia. The Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Tennessee sent home 400 staff members last week and will cut hours of other employees. The Medical University of South Carolina laid off 900 workers and Ohio's largest health system has temporarily laid off 700 nonmedical workers…..
Hospitals across Oklahoma have followed the national trend of canceling all elective surgeries, hoping to be ready in case COVID-19 cases spike in their region. And while it's essential to be prepared for what may come, it's also putting a massive dent in the hospitals bottom line.
"Let's be clear, elective surgeries are the lifeblood of many hospitals, if not all hospitals," said Mary Dale Peterson, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. "They account for 50 to 60% of profits for most."
In the short run, we need the federal government to send money fast to hospitals to keep them from getting rid of their healthcare workers right when they are needed most. In the long run, we need to invest in expanding public hospitals that focus on healthcare delivery rather than profits and will keep employees even during periods when they are not all needed, to prepare for when they are needed.