Cleveland Clinic has about 1,000 employees away from work due to COVID-19, the health system told Becker's Nov. 23.
The count includes 925 workers in Ohio and other workers across the health system, which also has locations in Florida and Las Vegas. It is an increase from about 800 Cleveland Clinic employees in Ohio reported sidelined as of Nov. 16.
Cleveland Clinic spokesperson Andrea Pacetti said the increase in the number of employees affected by COVID-19 reflects more spreading of the virus in the community and in Ohio, and most affected employees are contracting the virus in the community.
Due to a surge in cases, Cleveland Clinic has taken steps to ensure enough staffing to meet patients' needs, said Ms. Pacetti. This includes shifting some employees to different areas of the health system to enable Cleveland Clinic to expand bed capacity for COVID-19 patients.
"We are also evaluating our surgical schedule weekly based on hospital occupancy and admissions of patients with COVID-19," Ms. Pacetti said. "Our leadership meets every day and reviews our staffing to ensure we can provide the highest quality care to all our patients."
Cleveland Clinic also urges the public to help reduce the spread of the virus so the health system can continue to care for COVID-19 patients and patients who need care but who don't have the coronavirus.
"This isn't just a Cleveland Clinic issue, but true for the whole state. We are asking the community to follow guidelines — wear masks, social distance and wash your hands — so we can keep our medical teams healthy," Ms. Pacetti said.
Cleveland Clinic has about 50,000 employees in Ohio.
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