November 1, 2021

Crisis in Healthcare

Prior to COVID-19 there was a nationwide shortage of healthcare workers. Hospitals looked at multiple ways to recruit and retain quality staff. In February/March of 2020 we were hit with a Global Pandemic. More was demanded from every Hospital employee. At Gila Regional Medical Center (GRMC) our staff stepped up, they worked tirelessly, extra hours, extra days, longer shifts, more patients, with sicker patients. Yet day after day they showed up and provided outstanding care. Housekeeping had to sanitize rooms, Nutrition Services had to make more meals, Administration had to deal with financial shortfalls, yet everyone kept showing up.

Now 20 months into the pandemic and continuing healthcare provider shortages, we at GRMC made the difficult decision to temporarily close our Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We simply do not have enough skilled manpower to staff it in a safe and effective manner.

We have sicker patients on the medical floor, a significant increase in Emergency Department visits and this has required movement of staff to cover these critical needs.
We at Gila have not been immune to the nationwide healthcare crisis of skilled worker shortages. Long hours, personal risk, COVID fatigue/mental health issues and national vaccine mandates have all contributed to this.

We continue to address these issues daily. Every employee at GRMC continues to pour their heart into this Hospital and Community. We are working diligently to obtain the staff to re-open our ICU, and we will continue to provide the excellent care our community expects and deserves.

Ronald P. Dalton, MD, FAAP Chief Medical Officer
Gila Regional Medical Center