Nursing Shortage Pushing Houston Hospitals, North Texas Emergency Room To Near Breaking Point

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

August 7, 2021

Houston area officials say the latest wave of COVID-19 cases and a nursing shortage is pushing the local health care system to nearly “a breaking point,” resulting in some patients having to be transferred out of the city to get medical care, including one who had to be taken to North Dakota.

Hunt Regional Healthcare is also seeing a need for “surge staffing.” It announced Friday, August 6, that its emergency room in Commerce is temporarily closed. “Our Commerce staff has been redirected to Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville due to the number of inpatients and urgent need for surge staffing,” the hospital posted on its Facebook page. “We are experiencing a public health crisis and need your help. If you have not been vaccinated, please do so as soon as possible. Wear a mask when indoors and avoid non-essential gatherings.”

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