California in Dire Need of Medical Workers Due to Worrisome Shortage of Volunteer Health Corps
California is in desperate need of medical workers as its volunteer health corps dwindled from the swamp of coronavirus patients in facilities.
The California volunteer health corps, created by Governor Gavin Newsom at the start of the pandemic initially has some 95,000 people to volunteer.
Newsom said the program "has been incredibly effective" but the numbers said otherwise as the volunteer health corps only has 14 people working in the field amid the life-threatening pandemic, reported The Associated Press.
Sources told CBS-affiliated KTVN that very few volunteers met California's qualifications for the volunteer program and much fewer had high-level experience with serious virus cases.
Other volunteers also decided to devote their time to other jobs before the latest surge in coronavirus cases.
California currently has a record one-day total of 695 coronavirus deaths. As of January 9, the state has recorded more than 2.6 million confirmed cases of the virus with a total of more than 29,000 deaths.
Volunteer programs in other states also faced similar difficulties.
Volunteer Health Corps Falls Through Despite Laudable Goal
For California Nurses Association's government relations director Stephanie Roberson, the California health corps did have a "laudable" goal, but it ultimately "hasn't worked out" as Newsom said it did.
Newsom formed the volunteer health corps in preparation of the crisis that coronavirus brought California and other states.
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But California became one of nation's states where the coronavirus situation spiraled out of control.
Infections, hospitalizations and intensive care needs due to the virus were constantly maxed out as the rest of the nation also saw a surge in numbers, overwhelming the usual pool of travelling nurses.
Officials reported there was a need for 3,000 temporary medical workers, but only about 1,000 was met as of Thursday, said The Associated Press.
As a result, hospitals sacrifice the care for critically ill patients by changing their nurse-to-patient ratios.
Newsom's vision for the volunteer health corps was to get retired or inactive medical workers to fill in the gaps in health facilities.
Even though they are considered as volunteers, they would still be paid what the state calls "competitive wages."
Sean Clarke, executive vice dean at New York University's Rory Meyers College of Nursing noted that when a volunteer corps is established, it is made under the assumption that people can easily be slotted in.
However, Clarke said, "Figuring out how to do that still hasn't been fleshed out, I guess."
"It could just be that nurses know that this just might not be the safest place to work," Roberson added.
Oregon Sends Healthcare Workers to California
As California battles with the massive surge in COVID-19 cases, Oregon sent in some of its medical workers to help the state in easing the burden, reported Fox 12 Oregon.
Ryan Hutchinson, a healthcare worker from the city of Medford was one of these health care workers. He came into Apple Valley, California to assist in medical services for a week.
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He shared that Saint Mary's medical center, where he's working is beyond capacity for patients.
In addition to that, the hospital also has to worry about cases among its own staff.
He also said that the events unfolding in California should serve as a warning to every state about the seriousness of the pandemic.
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