By Guy Page
The number of University of Vermont Medical Center staff out of work due to Omicron has doubled in the past week, forcing temporary emergency staffing measures, Chief Nursing Officer Peg Gagne said in Tuesday, Jan. 11 memo to all UVMMC nurses.
“The Omicron variant is sweeping through our communities and our care teams,” the memo says. “The number of UVM Medical Center staff out of work due to Covid has doubled in the last week, and current projections indicate that these numbers will continue to grow.
The illness-related shortage is occurring as patient volume is growing.
“At the same time, our emergency and inpatient volumes are high as we see increasing numbers of Covid patients throughout the patient population.”
The “emergency staffing situation” has led Gagne and other UVMMC leaders – after discussion with the nursing union – to impose the following changes:
- Leaders deployed to clinical/support roles
- Flexing of staff assignments to areas of highest need
- Circulators and charge nurses assigned to areas of highest need
- Staff, beginning with traveler” nurses, will be deployed “voluntarily/involuntarily” to areas of highest need.