YRMC faces staffing challenges amid increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations

PPE and bed space is available, staff need to care for COVID-19 units and ICU patients

YUMA, Ariz.- (KYMA, KECY) - Monday, Yuma Regional Medical Center confirmed that while it has a workforce of more than 2,500, staffing its COVID-19 units remains challenging.

On a positive note, PPE is fully stocked, and bed space is available.

Machele Headington, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, reports the hospital is struggling to fill weekend shifts, saying, “For us, our focus right now is that we have staff and we’re bringing in more staff.”

Nurses have reached out to News 11, claiming they’re working overtime without incentive pay.

As YRMC enters into tier 3 of its pandemic staffing plan, the hospital is reassigning staff to meet the daily needs of the multiple COVID-19 units and its ICU.

“Depending on [staff members'] skill level depends on where we would use them. We have opened [tier 3] up for staff who want to volunteer.”

YRMC’s laboratory has been extremely busy and understaffed over the last few weeks from COVID-19 testing.

Headington says the hospital is utilizing staffing agencies normally used in the winter when Yuma's population more than doubles.

Another rising challenge, saving lives.

Three weeks into the month of June the number of deaths surpassed what the hospital saw in just the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic alone.

The hospital attributes this spike to the increasing volume of patients.

Headington said, “100% of the patients that have passed away with COVID has had some type of underlying [health] conditions, many of them had multiple comorbidity conditions.”

Headington expects the number of deaths to level off.

The hospital’s ICU has remained relatively steady hovering around half capacity.

YRMC has transferred fewer patients out using the Arizona surge-line, as bed space in many hospitals in our region wavers capacity.