EASTON, Md. - The Shortage of health care workers is and has been hitting the town of Easton hard.
Mayor Robert Willey voiced how finding more health care workers is a top priority for the town. He says the concern is there of those feeling burned out. Nurse, doctors, practitioners, etc. are being burned out from overwork, added stress, and overwhelming demands.
Willey says, he hears their concerns. "They are sometimes working double shifts before they could leave. It's okay for a while, but after a while it does get to be a little tedious. They're a little bit concerned that maybe the level of health care is not as good as it should be," says Willey.
They understand there is an issue. They understand that they have to bring in more people. But, they also don't want to sacrifice the quality of the individuals that they're bringing in. They want well trained people. People that will come in and stay," says Willey. He said after his comment, people reached out to suggest how to get more workers to Easton.
One health care worker is calling this 'The Great Resignation'. Meaning, those medical professionals are either leaving or switching their positions. This is because of the burn-out and the feeling of being over worked and not compensated properly. And, the aging population of Easton adds to the stress.
Stefanie Defiglia, a nurse practitioner at Two Tree Integrative Health, says this will continue to be an increasing problem for Easton. "The question is, what happens now? Because, I think the shortage of providers is not going away any time soon. I think its going to be years before Easton recovers from this. I think the impact will be significant. I think its impacting patient care. People can't get access," says Defiglia. Defiglia owns her own practice now after she left her time in the hospital. She and some other health care providers only can hope this gets better.
Some health care providers did say they were in the process of finding additional employees. They added that this is a problem for Easton, but also for the Globe.