'National Nurses United asserts that the United States is not experiencing a nursing shortage,' the union stated in August.

Nurse-to-patient ratios, which is one of the issues Shackelford says she brought up during her employment, has been a matter of concern across the country, according to the National Nurses Union. Though there is no overall shortage of nurses in the U.S., according to the union, there continue to be staffing issues. 'Our hospitals are at capacity': COVID-19 booster shots coming to Indiana amid rise in hospitalizations and deaths 'To go from the 2020 heroes to 2021 being completely disposable by the same system that you fought so hard for is heartbreaking,' Shackelford said. The virus has evolved and so has public dialogue. Health officials and hospital executives are frustrated. The 30-second video snippet on TikTok tells a larger story, one that has been brewing since the first case of COVID-19 arrived in Indiana. From '2020 heroes' to 'being completely disposable' The hospital had monthly town hall meetings but she said some employees, herself included, stopped attending them because the tone and language used in last week's meeting was a recurring theme.

She says she never saw Wehrmeister in person during her time at St. She describes being 'scared to death' of bringing the virus back to her family. Vincent from 2019 to 2021, including the COVID Intensive Care Unit, which took a toll on her mental health. Shackelford works as a nurse at a different institution now. it has been so hard to keep the spark alive and our love for our jobs because we're getting no support from the people who make all the decisions for us.'Ĭhanging course: Indianapolis area hospitals postpone some elective procedures amid COVID surge “You have all of these nurses with such heart and soul into health care and into helping make a difference in people's lives when at the end of the day we are destroying our own souls doing it. “We never have the support from the administrators that never show up on the unit but dictate every single thing that happens,” Shackelford told IndyStar. The daily stress has been all too familiar for nurses throughout the pandemic, Shackelford says. She says she is glad she shared the video so more people can see how nurses 'are talked to and treated behind the scenes.' Wehrmeister has been in her current role since 2019 and has held several nursing and leadership positions throughout her career. IndyStar did not interview Wehrmeister, and a spokesperson said they were only sharing the CEO's statement as of Tuesday. Ascension is more than an organization - we are a ministry of people who have experienced the daily stress of providing front-line care to patients during a global pandemic that has impacted our world for more than 18 months now.” “We hear you and will continue to be in solidarity with you. “Some of the comments made by leadership were not reflective of the Values of Ascension,” Nalli said in the memo. Vincent Indiana’s CEO Jonathan Nalli sent out an emailed memo to staff, with the subject “Extending My Support and Gratitude.' Shackelford says the clip was sent to her by “several” people, sharing it to her platform a few days after the incident. “Wonder why they can’t keep employees?” she wrote in a caption. The nurse who posted the video, Ashley Shackelford, is a former employee of Ascension St. The viral clip has been viewed more than 2.2 million times on TikTok. If you don’t like working here, then go somewhere else.” And so, I’m sorry, but I think the comments are overboard. Quite honestly, I could sit here and ask why I work 12-14 hours a day to try to keep this hospital up and running. “And I’m highly disappointed in how this meeting’s going. “I’m gonna tell you right now in my seven years of working here, this is the most picked to death and unkind I’ve ever felt from this group,” Wehrmeister says in the portion of the Zoom clip. Her response - shared only partially on social media - was highly criticized after she told staffers to “go somewhere else” if they were unhappy with their jobs. One week after an apparent tirade against employees at a hospitalwide meeting, an Ascension Health executive has not addressed the situation publicly.Įrica Wehrmeister, Ascension Indiana’s president of the Central Region, was allegedly asked about increasing staff pay at a virtual town hall last Wednesday. Grace Hollars, Mykal McEldowney, Michelle Pemberton, Kelly Wilkinson, Robert Scheer, Jenna Watson, Clark Wade, Joe Tamborello and Stephen J.

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