STAFFORD, Conn. — Johnson Memorial Hospital put a pause on both inpatient and outpatient surgeries as of June 9 due to staffing shortages.
According to Trinity Health of New England, which owns the hospital, the majority of patients requiring outpatient surgery will be served at the Johnson Surgery Center in Enfield, and patients needing inpatient surgery will be taken to another hospital in the same system.
In a statement, Trinity Health said, "This allows for uninterrupted, continuity of care for all patients who were and may potentially be impacted by the pause."
"Stafford's a big town, and to lose that it's terrible. It's not good," said Frances Weigand, a town resident.
She and others in Stafford were concerned about the staffing shortage at the hospital with not many other nearby options for people in that part of the state.
"We rely heavily on the hospital. And there's a lot of old people here too," Weigand said.
AFT, a union that represents nurses and health professionals, also shared some of those concerns and the impact this pause may have on people in the area.
"At the very least, especially with the gas prices, it might cause them to have to spend more money to go someplace else. It'd be a bigger hardship on their family who may have to take time off to drive them further," said Sherri Dayton, vice president for healthcare for AFT Connecticut.
The staffing issues are not unique to this hospital, or even to Connecticut. Hospitals all across the country are experiencing workforce shortages.
"A hundred thousand nurses across the United States in 2021 left their profession to go to other professions," Dayton said.
She said there are many factors contributing to the nationwide shortage including mandatory overtime and the pandemic.
"Having good staffing is important and we really need to start looking at the true issues on why there's a staffing issue and not just saying well no one wants to do this anymore because that's not true. We have to get to the core problem and the core issues," Dayton said.
Trinity Health of New England's full statement can be read below.
"Providing safe, high-quality, patient-centered care are our top priorities at Johnson Memorial Hospital. As staffing shortages persist within our surgical services department, we will temporarily pause both inpatient and outpatient surgeries, effective Thursday, June 9. We will safely resume surgical services as soon as possible.
Johnson is proud to be part of Trinity Health Of New England, a regionally integrated network of high-quality healthcare facilities, including Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The large majority of patients requiring outpatient surgery will be served at our Johnson Surgery Center in Enfield. Patients requiring inpatient surgery will be safely transported to another Trinity Health Of New England hospital. This allows for uninterrupted, continuity of care for all patients who were and may potentially be impacted by the pause.
Johnson is following all the necessary and required protocols to notify the appropriate agencies, including the State’s Department of Public Health."
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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