Nursing shortages are impacting hospitals. With plenty of beds and not enough people to staff them, it's causing a strain on many emergency rooms and ICU's.

Jim Kaufman with the West Virginia Hospital Association said medical staff shortages are impacting the whole country.

"There's more than 40,000 vacant nursing positions nationwide that we know of," Kaufman said.

Kaufman said people should try to avoid going to the emergency room when there is an alternative.

"If a patient thinks they're having chest pains or having an emergency situation, go to the emergency room," Kaufman said. "At the same time, utilize other healthcare settings, such as the primary care provider, urgent care centers, clinics, telehealth for those non-emergency, routine services."

Medical staff shortages are common, but Kaufman said it's not usually at this scale.

"You'll see crises at certain times, but it tends to be regional, and that's where the community works together," Kaufman said. "They'll deploy resources. The problem this time around is it's national. Your ability to shift and provide care and use other resources is strained across the entire setting."

Kaufman said the public can help relieve some of the strain on healthcare workers by getting vaccinated.

"Right now in West Virginia, more than 90% of the patients that are ICU are unvaccinated," Kaufman said. "That's why we're encouraging everybody to get their vaccine. We're also asking our staff to get vaccinated, because we can't lose them to COVID exposure or COVID illness. So, we need them to get vaccinated as well."