I can still hear them clapping and ringing the bells. It was just one year ago.

Some of the most enduring images from last Spring were people standing on their balconies clapping as healthcare workers came to the hospitals.  Now, a recent study found nearly 20 percent of medical workers have resigned since the start of the pandemic. Another 30 percent have considered leaving. Many have decided they just cannot go on.

The ovations waned and Covid-19 did not.

There is no end in sight.  Many have worked the equivalent of three years in a 12month period. Public Health Care personnel are suffering from anxiety, depression, and stress-related conditions. We went from heroes to villains in a very short period of time. Vitriol against mask mandates, being accosted in public spaces, and being physically attacked have gained the spotlight.  Burnout is felt in all corridors. All the hard work and extra shifts did nothing as the crisis continues to worsen.

The lack of cooperation by elected officials have made the pandemic worse for public health officials. Many scientists have been asked to alter the data to explain or miscommunicate the facts for Covid-19. This politicization of the pandemic has led to mounting resentment among health care workers and the general public. Who do you believe and is anything in the media correct?

The news media has disparaged healthcare and report that we are not doing enough when nothing could be further from the truth.

Those healthcare facilities that recognized the extreme efforts their employees were making fared better than those that ignored how many were working overtime and working non-stop through the crisis.  But financial issues from treating high resource consuming Covid patients put the whole system in a tailspin.

Healthcare workers who are leaving the industry for other jobs are commonplace. Those eligible for retirement are throwing in the towel. Nurses are refusing to go to the bedside to treat unvaccinated patients who should have known better.  The entire healthcare system is under tremendous strain.  A June report stated that 40 percent of active physicians will be 65 or older over the next 10 years. The nursing shortfall is even worse than the physician deficit. In 2018 the American Journal of nursing projected a shortage of over half a million nurses by 2030.  The Association of American Medical Colleges report that applications to medical school are up more than 18 percent this year. But, many years before this will be beneficial and it will be in a whole new world of medical delivery systems.

Currently, the system if not functioning at capacity and highly skilled workers have their choice of positions.

You don’t see much about Heroes anymore.