Eric Wolak News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Chatham Maternity Care Center at Chatham Hospital is defying the odds of ongoing maternity care closures.

The five-bed rural maternity unit has survived for three years and counting — a promising feat amid the pressures of providing rural maternity care.

Already a problem, scarcity in the state will worsen, with demand exceeding supply by nearly 12,500 registered nurses by 2033, a Sheps Center study found.

"It is very emotional for me. Every day... it never stops," said Eric Wolak, a nursing director in UNC Health's intensive care unit. As of Wednesday, Wolak has roughly 50 nurses treating 40 patients who are sick from the deadly virus. He says their work is exhausting, "When I have a COVID nurse who is fully donned on PPE for hours and hours taking care of a sick patient that is taxing both mentally and physically." With the impact of Thanksgiving celebrations and Christmas and New Year's right around the corner, he fears the worse. He finds it infuriating to see people ignoring measures put i...

Intensive units across the state, including UNC Health, are feeling the strain of staffing as the number of COVID-19 cases begins to outnumber available nurses.