Nell Robinson has been in the health care industry for 27 years and is also a member of 1199SEIU. She started her career as a home health aide and now works at a skilled nursing facility.
“It is very stressful; you can burn out quickly,” said Robinson.
Especially since Robinson and her staff are the only people some residents see on a daily basis.
What You Need To Know
- The CDC has issued its latest Vitals Report
- Almost half of the nation’s health care workers feel stressed and burnt out
- The CDC report launching a new initiative to combat the issues
“We deal with a lot of people who don’t have family at all. So we have to give extra care to those who don’t have family members,” she said.
Robinson is not alone, as a new report from the Centers for Disease Control indicates that 46% of all health care workers reported feeling burnt out in 2022, up more than 30% from 2018.
“Exposure to human suffering takes an immense toll on this vital workforce,” said Debra Houry, chief medical officer with the CDC.
Things were only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which CDC leaders say only intensified health workers’ long-standing challenges and mental health concerns.
“Including compassion fatigue, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and suicidal thoughts. Burnout among these workers has reached crisis levels,” said Houry.
Robinson says the COVID crisis was one of the most challenging of her career, as staff was stretched thin and residents were depressed because they were isolated from their family.
“[It] made our jobs so much more tough because the morale of the staff plummeted,” she said.
The CDC rolled out its Healthcare Worker Mental Health Initiative to raise awareness about the problems workers face and ways to solve them.
“By improving work conditions and work design, we can have a positive impact on health worker well-being and mental health and retain a critical asset to the nation’s health system and public health,” said Houry.
Those assets include Robinson, who says she make sure she takes care of her own mental health needs.
“It’s very crucial because some people are not on the same mental level, and a lot of people do need help,” she said.
Most facilities and many other across the state do offer mental health and wellness programs, as well as counseling services.