Healthcare professionals recently gathered in Plattsburgh’s Hampton Inn for a town hall-style meeting to discuss the pressing issues of staffing shortages and lack of service in the North Country. Many nurses and healthcare workers are concerned that the “streamlining” approach, in which large organizations take over local hospitals, result in the reduction of essential services and their relocation, leaving communities without access to necessary care.
Kim Bouvier-Barnes, a registered nurse at Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, expressed her disappointment about the loss of services since Champlain Valley Physicians and Alice Hyde hospitals joined UVM Health Network. Maternity services, ICU services, the blood bank, surgeons, and family care practice doctors have all been lost.
Bouvier-Barnes highlighted the ongoing disappearance of services and the impact it has on the community, stating, “We’ve lost so many services that we are experiencing a lack of healthcare.” Her concerns were shared by other nurses who attended the meeting.
To address these challenges, the group plans to organize more community forums in the coming weeks, aiming to engage the local community in discussions about the healthcare system. By bringing together healthcare professionals, community members, and other stakeholders, they hope to find solutions and advocate for the necessary resources to improve and restore essential services in the North Country.
In conclusion, healthcare professionals are alarmed by the staffing shortages and lack of service in the North Country resulting from the streamlining approach employed by large organizations. The loss of essential services has had a detrimental effect on the community. With the intention of involving the community in finding solutions, the group plans to host community forums to address these pressing concerns.
Definitions:
1. Streamlining: An approach where a larger organization takes control of local hospitals and reduces services and relocates them to larger facilities.
2. Staffing shortages: The lack of sufficient healthcare professionals, such as nurses and doctors, to meet the needs of a community.
Sources:
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