Hospital exec says employees are walking off the job
I am an EMT and talk to a lot of nurses, PAs, and physicians in various circles.  This wave is worse for a few reasons.<p>- Healthcare staff have great animosity towards the unvaccinated patients.  They aren't victims here, they did this to themselves.  Nobody can muster any more compassion, especially for these people.  Patients and people at large, not even just the total-nutjob anti-vaxxers, are tired of restrictions.  "Things are opened back up, I deserve to have a good time."<p>- Staffing shortages building over the pandemic are making nurses hate the hospital administrations even more than before.  Many were furloughed or laid off 6-12 months ago, and are now asked to work mandatory overtime with ridiculously unsafe nurse:patient ratios.<p>- ... all while traveling contract nurses and providers are being utilized by the hospitals at a pay rate 3-4 times what staff are paid.  Many nurses are leaving their jobs that pay $30/hour to take a traveling assignment at $90+/hour.  These people are working side by side, there's disdain towards the travelers, but who cares they're making bank.<p>- The "healthcare heroes" messaging is so obviously just a scam and the healthcare staff are now almost 18 months into a kafkaesque, double-speak nightmare.  Previously this was reserved for veterans, and of course they were similarly screwed.<p>It's all just been building up since the beginning of the pandemic - issues with skilled staffing are very real and happening across the country.