Critical needs to fight COVID-19

Much of the talk around the need to treat the coronavirus pandemic has revolved around equipment, beds, and facilities.

But none of that will matter if we don’t have a knowledgeable and trained staff — the nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists who can work the equipment and care for the patients.

The possibility of a health care staffing shortage as this crisis ramps up is very real.

The extraordinary need comes amid a shortage of nurses before this crisis began. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing previously reported that even though the number of registered nurses was expected to increase by about 438,000 from 2016 to 2026, the number of unfilled jobs still would exceed 200,000 a year.

Now, state and local officials are rightly asking retired nurses and doctors, medical school professors and students, and others to come on board. In New York City, in just a single day, 1,000 retired or privately practicing medical professionals volunteered to join the city’s Medical Reserve Corps, which had included 9,000 professionals who respond to health emergencies.

That bodes well, but it won’t be enough. New York State has issued a survey for health care professionals to complete. Nassau and Suffolk counties must maximize outreach efforts, and work with individual hospitals, which are reaching out to their own retirees, and to employment agencies, too. Northwell Health also has enlisted its 400 medical students to do some of the swabbing required to test patients for the coronavirus.

Issuing emergency federal regulations that now allow doctors to practice across state lines without additional licensing was smart. And as more hospitals stop elective surgeries, or cancel non-emergency appointments, it will free up some physicians to focus on the pandemic.

But there also must be an understanding of where the needs are greatest, so volunteers and others can be properly deployed. And those staffing needs will change, potentially rapidly. There have been instances in which nurses have become ill, and they and their colleagues have had to stop working. Northwell, for instance, said it had 20 staff members who’ve tested positive throughout its system, but more than 240 have been under self-quarantine. In Connecticut, one hospital had 200 under quarantine because they couldn’t be tested quickly enough.

If the virus spreads further among hospital staff, the shortage will become all the more acute, and would mean volunteers may need to be shifted from one location to another. The state has to be ready to keep an ongoing, updated tally of the staffing resources we have — and where they’re most needed.

Beyond its institutions, New York will also need to provide trained nurses and doctors for new facilities that come online, such as the naval hospital ship, potential college dorm buildings, and other makeshift hospital or urgent-care units.

It’s truly impossible to quantify what the area’s staffing needs will look like in the weeks and months ahead. But the state, and the region, must be prepared now. We will need all the help we can get.

— The editorial board