(CNN) Earlier this month, Mississippi ICU nurse Nichole Atherton resigned, worn down by the stress, young patients and preventable deaths that have overwhelmed the state's hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It looks heroic," Atherton, of Singing River Ocean Springs Hospital, told CNN. "But that's not what it is. It's sweaty and hard and chaotic and bloody. And it's hard to live in this every day and then go home and live a normal life."
Mississippi now has at least 2,000 fewer nurses than it did at the beginning of the year, according to the Mississippi Hospital Association's Center for Quality & Workforce. The staff shortages add to the growing strain on the state's hospital system -- both due, in large part, to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When asked if the health care system is reaching a breaking point, Singing River Nursing Manager for Personal Care Buddy Gager said, "I think we already broke."
State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said Tuesday that Mississippi set a new record of Covid-19 related deaths. And of the 875 staffed ICU beds across the state, more than 93% are in use and more than 63% of those beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
SpaceMonkey877 on August 26th, 2021 at 13:18 UTC »
Can’t save people who won’t take steps to save themselves. Mississippi is entering the “Find Out” phase of their little experiment.
shankworks on August 26th, 2021 at 05:59 UTC »
Turns out that the "freedom" to be self centered and not wear a mask or get vaxed leads to healthcare professionals exercising their "freedom" to not give a shit about you and resign to go work elsewhere...
MrThreeDog on August 26th, 2021 at 05:25 UTC »
Good for them, they need to protect themselves and their families first and foremost, and having to deal with people who are willing to spread this disease for political reasons is the last thing they deserve to endure. At this point, just let the Covid deniers stew in their own misery, it's no one else's responsibility but their own.