Strike teams are being deployed to hospitals in Pennsylvania as the health care system continues to struggle against the latest COVID-19 wave.
“Staffing is our number one issue across the state right now,” Allegheny Health Network Chief Medical Officer Dr. Don Whiting said. “At AHN last year we had 300 nursing openings. Now, we have 1,100.”
“Last year, we had staff and we could open more beds when we needed them,” Whiting said. “Now, we don’t have the staff. So those strike teams would be very welcomed to add staff.”
Federal officials will decide where the strike teams are going in Pennsylvania while state agencies assess the needs of various health care systems.