Surgeon General Addresses Healthcare Worker Crisis

Advisory lays out recommendations for healthcare organizations and facilities to address worker burnout and ensure their well-being.

By HFT Staff


The worker burnout crisis and resulting staffing shortage that healthcare facilities are facing these days is critical, and it’s only likely to get worse. More workers plan to quit in 2022, and the causes of shortages go well beyond the most visible challenges created by COVID-19. 

To address the crisis, facility managers are taking several short- and long-range steps. They include innovating their recruiting efforts and even rethinking their facilities’ interior design decisions

The staffing situation has intensified to the point that the federal government is taking steps to help healthcare systems address the issue. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory highlighting the urgent need to address the health worker burnout crisis. Workers in all areas of healthcare facilities faced systemic challenges even before the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to crisis levels of burnout. The pandemic further exacerbated burnout for health workers, with many risking and sacrificing their own lives in the service of others while responding to the crisis. 

The Surgeon General’s Advisory Addressing Health Worker Burnout lays out recommendations for healthcare organizations, health insurers, health technology companies and communities to address worker burnout and ensure their well-being. Among the recommendations are these: 

  • Transform workplace culture to empower health workers and be responsive to their voices and needs. Listen to workers and seek their involvement to improve processes, workflows and culture. 
  • Protect the health, safety, and well-being of all health workers. Provide living wages, paid sick and family leave, rest breaks, evaluation of workloads and working hours, educational debt support, and family-friendly policies, including childcare and care for older adults for all health workers.  
  • Ensure adequate staffing, including surge capacity for public health emergencies, that is representative of the communities they serve. This is critical to protect and sustain health workers and communities.  
  • Organizations, communities, and policies must prioritize protecting health workers from workplace violence and ensure they have sufficient personal protective equipment.  In a recent national survey among health workers in mid-2021, eight out of ten experienced at least one type of workplace violence during the pandemic, with two-thirds having been verbally threatened, and one-third of nurses reporting an increase in violence compared to the previous year. 


June 2, 2022


Topic Area: Maintenance and Operations


Recent Posts

How Backup Power Needs Vary Across Healthcare Settings

Manufacturers discuss how evolving codes, technologies and care settings shape healthcare backup power strategies.


Flexible Design Strategies Help OhioHealth Maximize Clinical Space

Doing more with less was key to the renovated facility’s design.


New Bass Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases Opens

The new space not only offers more exam rooms but also features 15 private infusion bays to allow privacy for all patients and their caregivers during treatment.


Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Daytona Beach Opens

Hospital amenities include all private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym featuring advanced rehabilitation technologies, an activities of daily living suite and more.


What Healthcare Facilities Can Learn from a $49 Million Window Failure

A major window system failure at the University of Iowa’s Children’s Hospital sparked a costly replacement project – and a $49.4 million arbitration win.


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.