PORT ORANGE
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VOLUME 5, NO. 5
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• JANUARY 2022
Show me the money County to give pay raises for Beach Safety. School Board to give pay raises to Volusia teachers. PAGE 5
Nurses needed Halifax staffing shortage mirrors national trend MIA STRIEGEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
About 73% of hospitals across Florida were expecting a critical staffing shortage in mid-September, according to the Florida Hospital Association, and Halifax Health Medical Center is one of many in the state that is still dealing with a lack of staff through November. “It is the biggest challenge right now,” said Alberto Tineo, senior vice president and hospital chief operating officer. “It will remain an issue
across the state and country. In nursing we have over 130 positions we are looking for. We are also needing radiology, respiratory, cardiology and other hospital positions.” Tineo said that the hospital had a staffing shortage before COVID-19, but the pandemic deepened it. Hospital workers who were looking to retire in a few years sped up those plans and left early. What’s happening at Halifax reflects a national trend. In a recent survey conducted by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, two-thirds of nurses said their pandemic experiences have led them to consider leaving the profession. “I have heard from my nurse practitioners. They’re like, ‘I wonder how much real estate pays.’ ... I don’t know that they would still formally leave, but it certainly makes people think,” said Jeannine Waterman, a nurse practitioner manager with the Halifax Health, hospice and palliative care team. Waterman has been at Halifax for over 27 years.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Waterman said. “I work with a lot of young nurses who are 20, 22, 24. And they were like, ‘What am I doing?’ To come out of your nursing career into this is really hard. And a lot of them haven’t dealt with death and dying in their normal life, much less coming to work and dealing with it every day. It’s hard for them emotionally.” Nurses are not just considering leaving the profession, some are also looking into becoming a travel nurse. They work for short periods of time at hospitals around the country to fill positions. This has worsened the staffing issue. According to Indeed, travel nurses make approximately 20% more than all registered nurses. “A lot of where the nursing shortage is coming from in terms of what’s happening in hospitals right now is they’re offering a lot of money for nurses to go travel and take assignments in other areas,” Waterman said, “which is pulling staff out of our normal staff, out of the hospital.” Halifax Health is trying its best to retain and recruit staff with benefits
Photo courtesy of Jeannine Waterman
Jeannine Waterman dons protective gear outside the COVID-19 unit.
and compensation. One Halifax hospital administrator said the level and quality of patient care has not been negatively impacted by the staff shortage, but it has impacted the hospital as an organization. Lindsay Martin, director of nursing for emergency and trauma services at Halifax, said that she doesn’t believe the staffing shortage is affecting patient care but does think
it has affected the flow of patients in the organization. Martin said this “leads to upset patients not being able to get to their next step in the process as quickly as we would all like. This causes stress on the staff as well. Patients are sicker than I’ve ever seen.” It’s not just nursing. Merrilee Felkel, a staff radiographer at Halifax, is feeling the effects as well. “It’s a little disheartening, but not surprising,” Felkel said. “And it doesn’t matter because we’re here to do the job we signed up for and people need care. And it just means sometimes we have to be stretched a little thinner or work a little harder, but you still go in with the attitude that you’re going to do a good job.” Being short-staffed doesn’t dampen Felkel’s spirit. “A lot of things can get you through a day, particularly if you’re having a tough day,” Felkel said. “But always the patients are what keep me going and inspire me — the reason I went into this business. It’s the reason I’ve stayed in it for so many years.”
FOOD DRIVE
Photo by Jacques Roch/Council 8086
Members of Council 8086 Knights of Columbus recently held a driveup food drive to benefit Our Lady of Hope’s pantry. Parishioners filled a large van with many boxes of food, as well as donating $1,500. “Our goal was to fill the van, which we accomplished — and then some,” said Grand Knight Roger Packard.
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ANDY AND MOLLY CLARK START FIRST EVER ARTS IN MEDICINE ENDOWMENT AT HALIFAX HEALTH Andy and Molly Clark, local entrepreneurs and owners of Port Orange’s All Aboard Properties, announced a $400,000 gift to Halifax Health for the first ever Arts in Medicine Endowment. The announcement was accompanied by a ceremonial agreement signing and some musical performances at Halifax Health with President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Feasel. The gift will be used to fund an arts therapy coordinator to plan and schedule therapeutic visual, and musical art encounters and activities for patients and Halifax
Andy and Molly Clark donated $400,000. Health Team Members. The idea came to the Clarks when they saw Lowell and Nancy Lohman’s gift for diabetes and Charles and Miki Grant’s gift for oncology. According to Andy Clark, “seeing the generosity of others prompted me to think what could we do to help people in medical need and or during treatment regimens. The idea of providing therapeutic arts was a natural.”
Joe Petrock, Executive Director of the Halifax Health Foundation worked with Julie Roth, serviceline administrator for oncology to source a program and coordinator who was trained at UF Health in Gainesville. “It is our hope to start this therapy for oncology patients with musical performance and visual art experiences and for the program to grow and touch all aspects of Halifax Health. This
Courtesy photo
gift by the Clarks takes our care to a higher level not only providing exceptional medical care but also providing wrap around care through comfort for our patients,” said Petrock. Petrock stated that he will continue to raise funds to add to the Arts in Medicine Endowment and thanked the Clarks for improving experiences for so many among us who need medical treatments.