When too few nurses staff hospitals, patients are observed to suffer higher rates of severe infection, urinary tract infections, and readmission for care. Conversely, when nurse staffing is high, the risk of hospital-related death decreases, as does the length of patient stays. Alongside the numerous studies relating these facts are the nurses suffering from burnout and illness — an employment risk that came into high profile during the pandemic — a consequence of nursing shortages over the years, not only in medical settings but also in higher education instruction.
Back in June 2020, the Santa Barbara and Goleta regions were recorded as Registered Nurse Shortage Areas by health-care information agencies, with 1,464 employed RNs. This was about 519 nurses under a target level based on population. The severity is considered “medium,” a level shared by Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo, which had 779 too few nurses.
For some perspective, the total supply of nurses in the nation dropped by more than 100,000 from 2020 to 2021, the largest drop to occur in a single year over the last four decades…