A major winter storm dumped several feet of snow in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, and local hospitals are having a difficult time staying staffed as the snow keeps employees from work.
Nurses and other employees at a few of Buffalo-based Kaleida Health's locations have had difficulties getting to work, according to a Buffalo Business First report. The system is encouraging managers, supervisors and employees in essential positions — like patient care, pharmacy, labs or laundry — to report to work, according to the report. If they have trouble leaving home, they can call for a ride from Kaleida's emergency operations command center.
Buffalo-based Catholic Health had to cancel elective surgeries during the storm at its Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo, The Buffalo News reported. Some employees took a snowmobile and others who were close enough walked to the hospital for their shift, but many others were unable to arrive. The hospital has made accommodations for employees to stay overnight and fill-in for other employees who couldn't get to the hospital, according to Buffalo Business First.
Getting the roads clear and safe is expected to help alleviate the staffing problem at the Buffalo-area hospitals. But it is unclear how long that will take, as the storm dumped about five feet of snow in the area, according to NBC News.