Hospital officials say workers are burned out from fighting relentless COVID wave

“We’re losing overworked nurses to overwhelming burnout, the distress of working short-staffed, better-paying traveler nurse jobs and even for signing bonuses of up to $20,000 to move to a different hospital,” said Julia Barcott, chair of the Washington State Nurses Association Cabinet and an ICU nurse at Astria Toppenish Hospital. “We’re worried for our patients and the impact of the staffing crisis on the care they receive.”