The toll of nearly three years of COVID-19 includes millions of nurses broken by punishing hours and low pay, many of whom quit the profession and left hospitals dangerously short of critical staff.
Now with pandemic-related travel restrictions easing, countries from Germany to the United Arab Emirates and Singapore are stepping up efforts to lure foreign nurses and other medical professionals with promises of expedited visas and better pay.
Lisa Tarr, 33, of St. Petersburg, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to four counts of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception, and subterfuge. She will be sentenced in February 2023.
Texas nurse Laura Morgan is pushing back against "implicit bias" training in the healthcare industry, which resulted in her being terminated from her job.
"Implicit bias training does operate on the concept that all healthcare workers are implicitly biased against their patients and must make decisions at the point of care based on things that don't have anything to do with the medical care of the patient," Morgan said.
The heads of three healthcare unions sent a letter to the state Department of Public Health, claiming portions of Windham Hospital are closed and implying that nurses are being punished for going on strike.
More than 22% of nursing positions in Kentucky hospitals remain unfilled, according to the Kentucky Hospital Association.
On Thursday, the group presented the results of its 2022 Workforce Survey. The numbers submitted by hospitals across Kentucky point to one thing: a serious staffing shortage.