Ricketts declares staffing emergency in Nebraska hospitals

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's hospitals are even more crowded now than they were at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in November, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Thursday as he announced a “staffing emergency” to try to address a severe shortage of health care workers.

The state's hospitals were treating a 3,162 patients as of Wednesday, up from 3,074 on Nov. 20, when the number of known cases was at its all-time high.

Most of the recent hospitalizations aren't virus-related, however, and Ricketts said the increase was driven by patients seeking treatment for other medical problems. According to state data, hospitals are currently treating 337 virus patients — about 11% of total hospitalizations. In November, the hospitals counted 987 virus patients, accounting for 32% of hospitalizations.

Ricketts said he declared the emergency after consulting with the state’s hospital administrators. But he stopped short of calling it a “COVID-19” emergency, which would allow the state to once again disclose daily case information.

Read more: https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/ricketts-declares-staffing-emergency-in-nebraska-hospitals/article_ab7d417a-3f26-5ecd-9c43-c9a2233cb767.html