YRMC hiring dozens of workers to keep up with demand
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - As we see record COVID-19 numbers in Yuma, the need for medical professionals is at an all time high. Yuma Regional Medical Center says there is a major need for nurses to care for the dozens of new patients coming in.
“It's not a matter of having just the bass and the equipment that's easy to come by is the staff dedicated talented qualified staff to take care of them. That's what we need right now.”
YRMC is in 'tier three' of its coronavirus crisis plan, making staffing critical during this stage to treat the influx of COVID-19 patients.
The hospital stopped elective surgeries to reserve nurses and doctors. However, YRMC is looking to fill multiple positions as it sees 60 to 80 more patients a day than this time last year.
Deb Aders is the Chief Nursing Officer for Yuma Regional.
“We have two COVID units but we really need three. So from a facility perspective we have the third one ready to go if we can get med surg nurses,” Aders said.
The empty 36-bed unit would be the third specialized COVID unit in the hospital.
When it comes to ventilators, the use has become more frequent, respiratory therapists are also needed when it comes to operating these ventilators.
The nurse to patient ratio is important because it shows how many patients a nurse is responsible for.
“We try to staff based on patient acuity so it can range. So there's a staffing range so it can go from different units have different ratios, but it's all based on how ill the patient is. It can go anywhere from 1:2 if you're in an ICU or if you're even on the floor if you are that critical; to a 1:5. It just depends on the acuity of the patient,” Aders explained.
YRMC has already hired more than 15 nurses, and more in hiring process right now.
Diane Poirot heads up the Human Resources department at the hospital.
“We don't hire a nurse and put into work without doing the credentialing and so forth that you have to do to make sure that they are qualified to take care of your staff so, but we're really ramping up the on-boarding time so that we can get these folks in,” Poirot said.
“Basically we're competing like every other hospital across the us. I mean, there's some really big spots and, especially, arizona, we're all competing. A lot of times we’re competing for the similar pool,” Aders added.
The hospital does have outside help as they look for qualified medical professionals.
“The demand is really high right now so we are fortunate to have great recruiters and also good partners with our agencies and so forth and a lot of resources and help trying to come from the state.”
