NJ hospitals paying a premium for nurses to come in (Opinion)

A friend of mine is married to one of my favorite nurses. She cared for my mom a couple of years ago when she was in the hospital around Christmas time. She is one of the many dedicated, hard-working nurses and medical professionals all over New Jersey who have worked right through the pandemic and never stopped.

My friend told me over the weekend that the hospital she works for offered her an EXTRA $85 per hour to make sure she came in for her shift on Saturday. I asked him three times, "An extra $85 PER HOUR?" He said yes. That's how desperate they are to make sure their critical personnel show up for work.

Every person who works at a hospital is "critical," but nurses are the backbone of our medical care system. If they don't show up, the hospital might have to turn patients away or medical care suffers greatly.

COVID vaccines are mandated for healthcare workers in New Jersey, or they face testing twice a week. Perhaps that is what is causing a shortage of workers, or maybe it's just fear of being in a hospital setting currently, but hospitals are pulling out all the stops to get eligible staff to show up to work.

Some medical professionals who are free to travel with minimal ties and responsibilities are hitting the road to make more money and gain wider experience due to the situation.

Some look at it as an opportunity, not only financially but also to get to see a different part of the country. The effort apparently by some hospitals here to keep nurses well paid will hopefully keep our critical medical personnel right here at home.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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