As the residents and staff at the Suwanee Health and Rehabilitation Center in Florida started testing positive for the novel coronavirus mid-March, Brandy Kinsey said she began confronting an impossible choice – keep her job or protect her life.
“When we look at bringing people on board, you’re asking them to run into the fire... into something that is unknown," said Mark Gloth, the medical director for HCR Manorcare, one of the nation’s largest providers of nursing and long-term care. “The health care worker shortage is real, and it is particularly concerning in the skilled nursing facilities where we are caring for the frailest of the frail.
Dr. Jim Wright, who is medical director at Canterbury, told ABC News that as the virus began to spread at his facility, he immediately realized staffing would be a concern. Employment agencies and training schools he typically relied on to fill openings were suddenly refusing to send anyone to Canterbury.
“Low wage workers, almost always women, are walking into infection zones without the most basic of protections,” Verett said. “Raincoats and rags turned into isolation gowns and face masks are not adequate stand-ins for medical grade [protective gear].” “It was something I had to do for my family and for my community,” Williams said in explaining why, a week after being laid off, he entered training to become a certified nursing assistant. “I needed to support my family, but I also felt it was the right decision for me.”