'Burned out' Texas nurses 'overwhelmed' by virus spike

TEXARKANA - Depleted in number and overwhelmed by working in hospitals nearing capacity, Texas nurses on Tuesday appealed to residents to do their part in fighting COVID-19, above all by getting vaccinated.

Both rural and urban areas of the state are seeing rapidly climbing rates of COVID infection and hospitalization just as a nursing shortage - already happening before the pandemic - is worsening, the Texas Nurses Association said. Overworked nurses are leaving the profession, it said.

"Nurses are burned out. ICU units are full. We are all tired of this; nurses are tired of this," said Cindy Zolnierek, the Association's CEO.

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Texarkana's Wadley Regional Medical Center said no nurses were available to be interviewed.

"With these rising numbers of COVID-19 admissions, our clinical staff is extremely busy with patient care," she said.

A significant factor is that hospitals are performing elective surgeries and other in-patient procedures along with treating the new influx of COVID patients.

That was not the case last summer, when such treatment was suspended in an effort to avoid overwhelming hospital capacity during a surge of infections. Now COVID case numbers are again nearing where they were then.

In addition, many nurses are experiencing incivility from patients admitted for COVID, the TNA said. Zolnierek asked Texans to understand that "nurses are only here to help. Help them do their jobs."

Vaccination is the key to relieving the pressure, Texas nurses say.

After hearing from nurses in all parts of Texas, the TNA has observed that "a clear pattern has emerged of unvaccinated people contracting COVID," and nurses confirm that most hospitalized patients are also unvaccinated.

The TNA cited recent Texas Department of State Health Services estimates that 99.5% of recent deaths from COVID-19 occurred among unvaccinated people.

"If you can get vaccinated, do that as soon as possible. The virus is real. The vaccine is free, safe and effective. Even if you get COVID after vaccination, the vaccine can help keep you out of the hospital," Zolnierek said.

As of Tuesday, 29.17% of Bowie County, Texas, residents age 12 or older had been fully vaccinated, compared with 52.23% statewide, according to TDSHS.

Arkansas Department of Health statistics showed 9.7% of Miller County residents 12 or older as fully vaccinated. That number, however, does not account for residents who were vaccinated in Texarkana, Texas, or elsewhere outside the county.

Statewide in Arkansas, 40.92% of residents in that age range had been fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to ADH.

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