Staffing Shortages Force GDOT to Curtail Atlanta-Area Interstate Patrols

The Georgia Department of Transportation said it doesn’t have enough personnel to maintain 24-hour Highway Emergency Response Operator patrols, a mainstay of metro Atlanta’s busy interstates.

By July 1, the HERO team will “temporarily pause” its active overnight patrols on metro Atlanta interstates, though personnel will remain available for some calls, such as “high-level incidents.” The HERO units currently maintain a 382-mile coverage area.

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Pennsylvania Nursing Home Wait List Tops 2,000

A new report finds staffing shortages force nursing homes to turn away patients, leaving beds empty and transferring the costs of medical care onto a strapped EMS system.

The numbers from the Pennsylvania Health Care Association’s analysis are stark. Of 69 nursing facilities surveyed, 52% said “they are limiting admissions in some way because they do not have enough staff to care for more residents.” Over a three-month period, facilities averaged 17 admission denials because of staff limitations.

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Federal Park Police ‘In Crisis’ After Being Understaffed and Underfunded

The union representing the U.S. Park Police (USPP) warned the Biden administration that staffing shortages will compromise the safety of visitors at national parks in a letter to the Department of the Interior.

The USPP is facing a “crisis of alarming proportions” in recruiting and retaining officers, Chairman of the Federal Parks Fraternal Order of Police Kenneth Spencer said in the letter sent to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

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Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Makes Adjustments as Employees Catch COVID

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is making major adjustments to its services as it deals with an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.

“Due to an increase in the number of COVID cases among staff, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) has implemented temporary staffing adjustments to ensure we maintain the highest level of service possible to our community while balancing personnel challenges,” the department said in a press release. “Currently, 66 employees have tested positive for COVID. An additional 12 FCFRD staff are in quarantine.”

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Ohio National Guard Called to Help with Hospital Staffing Shortages

Military men in uniform, on the steps of the National Mall in Washington D.C.

More than 1,000 Ohio National Guard members began working in hospitals across the state Monday to help combat what Gov. Mike DeWine called a growing strain caused by the rising number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The Ohio Department of Health also has begun working with a staffing company to bring more nurses and other providers from out of state to help ease pressure on current hospital staffs as the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached its highest level of the year.

“While the staff will be concentrated in the places where they are most needed, the entire state will feel relief as the arrangement supports the coordination of patient care that has been happening really since the beginning of this pandemic,” DeWine said at a news conference.

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Food Supply Shortages Hit Tucson Unified School District

As schools in Mesa face food shortages due to supply chain issues, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is also reporting similar circumstances. 

“We are experiencing delivery delays and volume shortages for many products. For example we order 1,000 cases of an item but only receive 700 cases or delivery dates are pushed further out,” Karla Escamilla, TUSD’s Senior Coordinator of Communications & Media Relations told The Arizona Sun Times.

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