By: Erica Rankin Health care facilities around the nation have been facing a nursing shortage and the pandemic has strained it even more. OU Health said they are no exception to the shortage. "As far as opportunities for nurses it is like the wild, wild west and seeing nurses leave for heavy incentives sometimes it is hard to blame them with that much money going around," said James Brigida, a RN and Supervisor of OU Health's Emergency Department. In Oklahoma, the Federal Bureau of Health Workforce has noted the state has 44,200 nurses which translates to 11.1 nurses per 1,000 people. And across OU Health's hospitals, there is a 19% nursing vacancy rate.