No Nurses, No Care
Last month, all 10 hospitals in Indianapolis were on “diversion” which meant that their emergency rooms were not taking patients.
One person was transported from Franklin, Indiana to Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, a trip of over 80 miles, because none of the Indianapolis area hospitals could care for any new patient.
Can you imagine the closest hospital being 80 miles away when you’re in an urban area? Well, this was the reality on that day.
This Indianapolis diversion was not because of a shortage of beds but because there was a shortage of nurses! Not enough nurses were available to provide emergency care for all the patients being delivered to those facilities at that time.
As you know and I know, nurses are getting so overworked, some suffering from post-traumatic stress as a result of the pandemic crush on our work force for the last 1½ years.
Nurses have been and are still being asked to do more with less, some who get no breaks during shifts up to 12 hours long.
I am hoping that my writing here helps to send a “wake-up call” to administrations that something must be done about the dwindling number of nurses to handle our national health care of patients.
Nurses need and deserve better treatment and to be provided with the physical, mental, and emotional support that actually inspires them. I’m hoping that these health care facilities will wake up and provide nurses with the care and support that they need.
Nurses are not necessarily asking for more money, however, that would be nice. More so, it’s to be treated with respect and dignity. Check out our Empowered Nurses Bill of Rights.
Is your emergency room short staffed? Tell us about the challenges you face there and what your facility is doing or should be doing to attract new nurses.
Let all of us know in the comments below.
