Updated: 12:43 PM EST January 25, 2021
RALEIGH, N.C. Monday, the North Carolina Healthcare Association (NCHA) sent a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper and NCDHHS Secretary, Dr. Mandy Cohen, expressing concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
In the letter, the hospital group pointed to some major issues in sharing the vaccine with people who need it.
NCHA President and CEO, Stephen Lawler, singled out four major roadblocks for the state to address:
An unreliable amount of vaccines
No clear plan
An unstable supply chain/poor communication.
The letter said hospitals needed clear leadership and more resources to take care of North Carolinians, especially since major vaccination campaigns are usually spearheaded by public health authorities.
Hospitals Face Staff Shortages as Coronavirus Hammers North Carolina
Staff shortages more of a danger than
Erin Holzhauer, medical director of the Samaritan’s Purse Covid-19 field hospital in Western North Carolina, has also worked as a nurse in a similar field hospital in the city of Cremona in northern Italy this last spring. The team there treated 281 patients from March 20 to May 8. (Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse)
North Carolina’s hospitals are quickly filling up with patients stricken by the coronavirus, even as health systems in some of the hardest-hit regions the Triad and greater Charlotte area take steps to make room for a wave of new patients. The looming crisis is fueled by lack of clinical staff, not by a lack of physical space for beds.
WFAE
A hospital bed sits in one of the tarp-enclosed rooms at North Carolina s field hospital in Lenoir. Each room will also have a heart monitor and other medical equipment.
North Carolina’s hospitals are quickly filling up with patients stricken by the coronavirus, even as health systems in some of the hardest-hit regions the Triad and greater Charlotte area take steps to make room for a wave of new patients.
The looming crisis is fueled by lack of clinical staff, not by lack of physical space for beds.
Health care workforce shortages have been chronic and persistent in some areas of the state, particularly rural ones. But with virtually every hospital in the state drawing on a finite pool of available providers, more than 4,000 North Carolina hospital beds are either unstaffed or were not reported to the state, data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows. COVID-19 infections in health care workers have also compounded the shortage.
RALEIGH (WTVD) Open enrollment for health insurance policies on Healthcare.gov are wrapping up on Friday and health officials across the country and in North Carolina are urging individuals and families to sign up while they still can. People being able to pay for their care and have insurance is important for hospitals, but what is important is that a patient with coverage can get preventative care and not wait to go to a hospital, Cody Hand, Vice President at the North Carolina Healthcare Association, said. COVID-19 can also be a pre-existing condition. There are a lot of issues at play that having health insurance is essential right now.