Despite the fact that 2,300 Ohio National Guardsmen have been sent into some Ohio hospitals, many hospitals are so shorthanded that they are turning to the costly practice of hiring traveling nurses and medical professionals to help meet the needs. But that鈥檚 not solving the problem.
spokesman John Palmer says many hospitals are hiring what are known as 鈥渢raveling nurses鈥 from companies that provide contract nurses during this pandemic.
鈥淚t can be pretty expensive for hospitals to bring in caregivers through these agencies,鈥 Palmer said.
Palmer says these services can cost hospitals a few thousand dollars a week for one employee. And that's not all. He says nurses at hospitals have been leaving those jobs to take positions at these contract agencies, making two or three times more money in the process. Palmer says he doesn鈥檛 know how many health care workers have defected to agencies within the past year.
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