Healthcare crisis in the U.S.

In the last two years, the number of healthcare worker shortages has increased at an alarming rate. Questions have risen in the wake of this crisis, asking what this will mean for healthcare workers and the patients they provide for. Employment in these job careers has remained low and the need for workers is high. But within this expanding necessity, there is a concern for the safety and prioritization of patients. Countless people are losing access to life-saving care and special services due to the disregard for the current state of healthcare.

The cause greatly impacting this matter is that healthcare workers are stretched far too wide amongst massive amounts of patients. As the demand for health services rises, burnout levels in workers make medical mistakes more probable. Reporter Steven Johnson expresses this in U.S. News when he states, “...practitioners are finding themselves responsible for a larger number of patients, fueling soaring burnout levels that experts say raise the risk of medical errors and, consequently, potential harm to Americans.” The result of this ends up being that people veer away from these types of jobs, therefore contributing to the physical and mental strain on current workers.

Many of the efforts made to help ease this growing issue in healthcare have been fruitless, to say the least. The problem does not only lie in the worker shortages but also in the condition or environment of the job. Since the 2020 pandemic, there has been difficulty in providing adequate supplies for hospitals and clinics. More patients are turned away and workers become unmotivated to perform at their best ability. Hospitals lose workers this way and will often be forced to make cuts or shut down, evidently affecting the ongoing shortage crisis.

Fortunately, there are people in power today that can jumpstart a small change for these issues but it can only happen if there are people willing to bring attention to the matter. There has to be an effort made from all sides. Not only is healthcare our future but it is also a vital part of how long we can be here to see it. If we want to strive in the system that we as a society set up, we have to take care of it first.

Marilyn Rios,

York Springs