How COVID-19 changed NWA health care
Health care systems in Northwest Arkansas are still feeling the impact of COVID-19, for better and worse, five years after the pandemic started.
State of play: "Recruitment and retention of nurses continues to be one of the biggest challenges for Washington Regional and other health care organizations," Birch Wright, Washington Regional Medical Center chief operating officer, told Axios in an emailed statement.
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas also saw nurses and other health care workers burn out and resign during the pandemic, or leave for higher-paying travel nursing jobs, Mercy chief medical officer Sonal Bhakta told Axios.
Since then, Mercy upped its engagement with nursing schools, technical schools and training programs like Bentonville Public Schools' Ignite program to make sure it has a strong workforce pipeline, she said.
Flashback: Hospitals in NWA, like much of the country, were overwhelmed by the number of COVID-19 patients and struggled with staffing.
What they're saying: "That taught us resiliency and flexibility," Bhakta said, adding that taking care of acutely sick patients taught the hospital how to stretch their resources.
By the numbers: Hospitals continue to face a difficult financial environment because ofrising costs and inflation, which are growing faster than reimbursements from insurance companies, Wright said.
Yes, but: The pandemic was a catalyst for increasing telehealth services, and now health care professionals "do it and do it well," Bhakta said.
Telehealth, or medical appointments over video, help reach rural patients for specialty or other care not available nearby.
The pandemic also helped health care workers at Mercy embrace AI as a tool, she said, which has alleviated administrative burdens on staff.
Zoom out: Health care organizations like Washington Regional have kept some COVID-era procedures in place, like offering masks and hand sanitizer, Wright said.
Washington Regional also continues to separate patients who have respiratory illness symptoms in its emergency department.
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