Some Texas hospitals are running on fumes. Data from the analytics firm Kaufman Hall shows nearly one out of ten are in danger of shutting down, most of those are in rural areas of the state. Over half of Texas hospitals are bleeding red ink.
John Hawkins, CEO and president of the Texas Hospital Association says there's a serious shortage of staff. "This isn't theoretical because we're already seeing limited capacity in our pediatric facilities because of RSV, the flu and continued Covid-19 cases."
The pandemic ties into these dour figures. A report from the Texas Hospital Association says before the coronavirus struck, a third of Texas hospitals were losing money. Expenses are up 20% over pre-pandemic levels, mostly due to labor costs and inflation causing supply and drug prices to rise.
Hawkins warns there is a limited healthcare workforce. The pandemic left many healthcare workers burned out. "There are other supply chain costs that are impacting them (hospitals) but ultimately they are having to limit their capacity because of a lack of staff."
A lack of staff also translates into longer waits for patients to be discharged. Those who would have to go to a nursing or rehab facility often can't leave right away as staff shortages impact those places as well.
Hawkins wants the Texas legislature to support Medicaid and trauma funding, but more importantly "You hear a lot of talk about investment in infrastructure going into this session. We would argue that our healthcare workforce is a key part of the state's healthcare infrastructure and we need the legislature to invest in programs that help with the workforce."
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