KHA Supports Hospitals’ Needs for Temporary Nurses
As you well know, Kentucky’s nurses have been on the front lines caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses are critical to the ability of hospitals to deliver compassionate care to all Kentuckians who are in need, but the ongoing pandemic has created new challenges for nurses and hospital staffing. The physical and mental toll has caused some nurses to retire. Community spread of the virus has resulted in some nurses having a direct or indirect exposure requiring them to quarantine, even if asymptomatic. Thus, at a time when the number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospital care is again increasing, hospitals are facing challenges in having sufficient nursing staff to provide care.
During the pandemic, members have repeatedly shared with KHA their need for more nurses. To assist hospitals in their search for temporary nurses, KHA sent letters at the beginning of 2021 to every licensed nurse in Kentucky urging them to consider assisting hospitals meet their staffing needs.
The letter encouraged ALL licensed nurses, even if they are retired or have never worked at the bedside to visit www.kyha.com/nursing where hospitals that are looking for more nurses provided contact information. This message was also shared in advertisements on social media.
Once again, KHA is putting out the call to all licensed nurses across the state to help with temporary surge staffing positions. We would be grateful if you could share this message with your members and urge them to visit www.kyha.com/nursing to see if they can help at the hospital in their local area. They can find contact names, emails and phone numbers listed for hospitals that are searching for nurses. The hospitals are listed by name and also by city to make it easy to find a location near them.
We appreciate your partnership on this project!