Don't Call Me A Hero

“There’s Just Not Enough Staff”

Tenet Healthcare’s largest hospital in Orange County, California wasn’t ready for COVID-19, and was even less prepared for the surge that tore through Southern California in December and January.

On this episode of Capital & Main’s Pandemic Nation podcast, Christina Rodriguez, a respiratory therapist, detailed the struggle caregivers faced as the hospital filled with COVID-19 patients.

“We can’t even keep up with what’s happening,” Rodriguez said during the height of the surge. “We need 20 therapists per shift. We’re lucky if we have — on a good day — 15. There’s just not enough staff.”