Let me tell you…it has been a wild few years for nurses. We have dealt with some of the most extreme and precarious conditions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses in all different types of settings are being hit hard with a lack of supplies, support, pay, and staff. Since the beginning of the pandemic there has been a massive exodus of nurses not only leaving their jobs, but leaving the profession itself.
One of the hardest hit settings for nurse shortages has been home care. As a nurse who used to work in the home care setting, the amount of staff that was working was already scarce to begin with. I used to work at a children’s group home and respite care that provided care for children with complex medical needs 24/7. I can vouch that even before the pandemic we were always short staffed and the pay was nowhere near what you should be compensated. But at the end of the day who suffers the most? The kiddos.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the devastating conditions in the homecare setting for families caring for children with complex needs. An article in the New York Times (Alcorn, 2021), stated that almost half of medically fragile children, “had lost home health care services during the pandemic”. These parents are having to become full time caregivers AND the nurse for their children with no extra support or compensation. No sleep. No breaks. THESE ARE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. The stories portrayed of families’ conditions in the New York Times article by Ted Alcorn are heart breaking. No family should have to suffer and fight just to provide basic needs to their child. They deserve better. This is a nursing S.O.S.
Here are a few resources that help & support families of children with complex needs:
UIC Division of Specialized Care for Children
References
Alcorn, T. (2021). To keep their son alive, they sleep in shifts and hope a nurse shows up. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/health/nursing-shortage-disabled-children.html
