Staffing Shortages Collide with Increased Demand—Do You Have a Plan?

Whether your operation is having staffing issues or not, certainly you’re aware that many urgent care centers (as well as practices in other settings) are short on workers. Given that the United States is also suffering another surge in COVID-19 cases, this time driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, that staffing “issue” is on the verge of becoming a crisis. Most recently, CityMD announced it has temporarily closed 19 locations in the metropolitan New York area. By doing so, and reallocating staff to other strategically chosen locations, the company said in the announcement that it hopes to “preserve our ability to staff our sites [and] avoid future closures as this surge continues.” It’s important to note that the company is large enough to be able to direct patients to other CityMD locations that may not be too far away, possibly minimizing loss in revenue, though it’s likely at least some patients will find other options. While the situation in the New York area is extreme, it isn’t unique. Keeping your own staff safe, healthy, and informed may be the best strategy to lower the risk for limiting access or closing up shop as the pandemic progresses. That goes for their emotional wellbeing, as well. JUCM published an article not too long ago that might provide a sound understanding of how the era of COVID-19 may be affecting your team (and how you can help them). You can read The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Making Burnout Worse for Physicians Already in Crisis in our archive.