Thread by @strauss_matt

I spent the holiday weekend working in an Ontario ICU.

It was *completely* full and there was ZERO Covid.

The staffing problem is very real. Poor morale and high workloads form a vicious circle. Here's how I would fix it if I were a hospital CEO:

london.ctvnews.ca/14-hospitals-i…

1/ Apologize. Pick up the phone and call everyone you fired over unethical, ineffective, unscientific vaccine mandates. Ask them to come back. Then apologize to everyone who is still at work but felt coerced.

2/ End the mask mandates. It's been 2.5 years that HCW haven't seen each other smile or had a non-muffled conversation. This takes a psychological toll. Hard to measure, but it's real:

tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…

3/ End the punitive, mean-spirited visitor policies. Nothing burns HCWs out more than telling families they can't see their loved ones, then getting yelled by said families. These policies protect no one.

4/ Welcome back the volunteers, gift shop workers etc. Hospital lobbies used to be bustling places where the community met and pitched in.

5/ Stop the silly screening protocols. There is no scientific basis for treating the hospital entrance like a militarized border crossing. Everyone knows to stay home if sick. I don't need someone to hand me a mask with salad tongs. Redeploy those workers to patient care.

6/ Lead from the front. Commit to working 2 shifts per month as a frontline health care worker in your background profession. If you aren't a former health care worker, resign. You don't know what you're talking about, I promise.

7/ Pay nurses more. I know this requires the province to play ball. Start lobbying. Doctors were paid ++extra during the pandemic and nurses had their pay frozen. It was horribly unfair.

cbc.ca/news/canada/to…

8/ Celebrate. The pandemic is over! Even Fauci said so. Summer is here and the window for a staff-appreciation barbecue is closing. 2.5 years of overtime, no vacations and childcare angst need to be acknowledged. Congratulations all around are in order.

washingtonpost.com/health/2022/04…