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8 HE ALTH • Fall 2021 • By Katherine Hamilton Healthcare facilities scramble to alleviate the mounting mental health crisis among workers as staffing shortage worsens Burning OUT B urnout is nothing new in the healthcare field, but a mental health crisis among healthcare workers may be leading to startling staffing shortages as a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic threatens to overburden hospitals again. A quarter of U.S. healthcare workers have considered leaving their job since the pandemic hit, and 14% said they might leave the healthcare profession altogether, according to a January study from Washington, D.C. researcher Morning Consult. "When the COVID pandemic struck, we were out buying ventilators and hiring traveling nurses. Now that we're in the mental health pandemic that's following, we don't have the additional increase in resources to be able to keep up," said Dr. Amy Harrington, who helps connect healthcare workers with UMass Memorial Health's employee assistance program in Worcester for faculty health and well-being. This stark reality in the healthcare industry is forcing providers to develop new programs to help caregivers, although they only go so far. Nearly half the healthcare workers surveyed by Morning Consult reported the pandemic had negatively affected their mental health. Harrington, who specializes in acute mental health and substance abuse issues, said she used to only receive a call once every couple of months. Now, she's inundated with several calls a week. COVID spiking again Along with the grief of treating COVID-19 patients, healthcare workers are suffering from stressors at home, such as child care and increased isolation, and helping children with remote learning, said Harrington. Fatigue is one of the most concerning aspects of the crisis, said Harrington, now with case numbers resurging and the community support seen in the early days of the pandemic dwindling. "If anything, people are really starting to struggle now as we're looking at the potential for another bad winter," she said. Meanwhile, demand for nurses – who make up the largest portion of the healthcare workforce – is expected to grow 7% in the next decade, a number likely to become higher if the pandemic worsens. That means about 175,000 registered nurse positions will open, ref lecting a significantly faster than average rate of growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Saint Vincent nurses strike Staffing shortages, burnout, and a general worker exodus from the healthcare industry were already challenges before the pandemic, said Dominique Muldoon, a registered nurse who helped lead the Saint IMAGE/ADOBE STOCK.COM Healthcare workers at UMass Memorial in Worcester wear personal protective equipment. PHOTO/COURTESY OF UMASS MEMORIAL HEALTH