As understaffing in hospitals continues to strain health systems across the country, some leaders at Adena Health System are lending a hand on the front lines, WBNS 10 reported.
The recent surge of COVID-19 patients has hit health systems hard in Ohio and across the US. To combat staff shortages, leaders at Adena Health System in Chillicothe, Ohio, are dropping some of their executive tasks to support their front-line staff.
Kathi Edrington, DNP, COO of Adena Health System, told WBNS 10, "We had some call-offs in our housekeeping, so I went ahead and cleaned the floors."
"It just sets the stage of ... what's happening right now," Dr. Edrington said. "To have it be this expansive where you have folks, like even the executive assistant of the president, working out on a unit as a patient care assistant, that's unprecedented."
Latanya Stewart, CNP, said that on top of seeing three to four more patients per day, she's helping other staff complete their tasks.
"I oftentimes will help the nurses out and the [medical assistants] out by doing my own intakes, my own vital signs, and my own discharges just to keep the flow moving along," Ms. Stewart told WBNS 10.
"It's not about who's doing what," Dr. Edrington said. "It's really about chipping in and doing what you can."