Substantially more open positions now at Scripps than before pandemic

San Diego CA— Significant health care workforce shortages, combined with an increase in COVID-19 cases and non-COVID patient care, have prompted Scripps Health to temporarily delay some medical procedures that can be safely postponed. Decisions on which procedures are delayed are being made by medical staff based on clinical factors. Emergency, time-sensitive care continues to be delivered.
Scripps is also evaluating temporarily consolidating some ambulatory sites due to the staffing shortage.
“The COVID pandemic has taken a serious toll on health care workers across the nation, and many have decided to leave the field entirely for reasons such as fatigue and burnout,” said Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder. “We’re doing all we can to fill open positions and shifts, but options are currently limited across the board in health care, so we’re doing what’s necessary to ensure we have staff available for our most urgent cases.”
Overall, Scripps is currently looking to fill 1,309 full- and part-time open positions, compared to 832 open positions in August 2019, before the pandemic emerged. Looking strictly at registered nurses, Scripps currently has 433 full- and part-time open positions, compared to 220 openings in August 2019.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients at Scripps hospitals continues to grow. Scripps currently has 173 COVID-positive patients admitted at its five hospital campuses – a significant jump from 13 hospitalized COVID patients on June 15, when the state of California ended its tiered reopening system and relaxed its social distancing and masking requirements. Along with the surge in COVID-19 cases, Scripps is also seeing many patients needing care that was delayed during the pandemic, creating an even greater demand for services.
“We are asking people to please get vaccinated. Wear masks. Do what you can to vanquish this pandemic,” Van Gorder said. “We in health care simply will not be able to continue to help this community and our patients in the way we need to if we are faced with an ever-increasing number of COVID cases on top of the large number of patients we are treating already and the level of staffing we have available.”

About Scripps Health

Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a nonprofit integrated health care delivery system based in San Diego, Calif. Scripps treats more than 600,000 patients annually through the dedication of 3,000 affiliated physicians and more than 16,000 employees among its five acute-care hospital campuses, home health care services, 28 outpatient centers and clinics, and hundreds of affiliated physician offices throughout the region.
Recognized as a leader in disease and injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment, Scripps is also at the forefront of clinical research. With three highly respected graduate medical education programs, Scripps is a longstanding member of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Scripps has been ranked five times as one of the nation’s best health care systems by Truven Health Analytics. Its hospitals are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among of the nation’s best and Scripps is recognized by the Advisory Board, Fortune and Working Mother magazine as one of the best places in the nation to work. More information can be found at www.scripps.org.