Rural hospitals in US hit by pandemic

Small-town doctors report having to keep seriously ill patients in emergency rooms and ambulances for hours because of bed shortages in intensive care units at larger hospitals.

The shortage of beds, and especially staff members, is the new normal. More than 1,000 hospitals across the US reported critical shortages of employees in recent days, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Many rural hospitals said they have had to look for specialty care hundreds of kilometers away, sometimes across state lines. However, larger hospitals are often overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, leaving smaller facilities unable to transfer their most gravely ill patients to higher levels of care.

Staff shortages have meant hospitals across the country－including some in rural areas－are seeking traveling doctors and nurses. Hefty paychecks are being offered to nurses willing to move for their work.

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, nurses can make more than $6,200 a week. A recent posting for a job in Fargo, North Dakota, offered more than $8,000, while some nurses can earn as much as $10,000 a week.

One of the country's largest healthcare staffing companies, Aya Healthcare, based in San Diego, California, recently sent 300 traveling clinicians to rural hospitals, and is trying to meet demand for 1,300 more.

April Hansen, a vice-president of the company, said, "We've had full crews working nearly 24/7, seven days a week."