Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has announced multiple initiatives aimed at boosting healthcare staffing amid the latest COVID-19 wave, including limiting elective procedures at hospitals in the state.
The governor on Aug. 26 declared a hospital staffing emergency and issued a directed health measure to limit elective procedures at hospitals.
He directed hospitals to suspend elective surgeries "that can wait four weeks or longer without substantially changing a patient's outcome," according to an Aug. 27 news release.
Some healthcare organizations, including Nebraska Medicine, Methodist Health, both in Omaha, and Lincoln-based Bryan Health, have already announced they would pause some elective procedures, according to news station WOWT.
Mr. Ricketts said the directed health measure extends this as a requirement for all Nebraska hospitals. The requirement takes effect Aug. 30 and will remain in place at least through Sept. 30.
Mr. Ricketts on Aug. 26 also issued an executive order to expand the pool of healthcare workers eligible to provide care in the state. He said the order, effective immediately, authorizes credentialing of retired or inactive healthcare workers, defers certain continuing education requirements and suspends rules to free up new healthcare providers seeking a license to begin practicing in Nebraska. The order will remain in effect through year's end.
The governor's announcements come as hospitals and health systems across the U.S. have grappled with staffing strains as COVID-19 delta variant cases rise in many areas and more people are hospitalized.
Nebraska has seen its COVID-19 hospitalization rate increase 43 percent in the last two weeks.