WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Houston Medical Center might not be able to help you right away if you are a non-emergency patient.
That's because they had to close a medical unit.
Houston Medical Center didn't tell 13WMAZ which unit was closed, but they said it has to do with the national worker shortage with health-care professionals.
They say they closed it because they don't have enough nurses to keep it open.
An understaffed hospital isn't rare these days.
"Basically, detrimental to our community," Chris Bill said.
Spokesperson Kevin Rowley says the 30-bed unit has been closed for about 4 weeks.
"This last March, I unexpectedly had a stroke, so I made it here to Houston County within that three-hour window, and if their services weren't available, I am not sure what would have happened to me," Bill said.
Bill says Houston County relies on the Medical Center.
"That's our main hospital and we need that care. We need that support," Bill said.
Rowley says they are "working actively and aggressively" to recruit nurses and "will reopen the unit" as soon as they have "the staff hired and trained."
"Nurses have a lot of responsibilities as far as nurse-patient ratio, work long hours, 12-hour shifts, lots of overtime," Kelly Hardin said.
And the list goes on.
Hardin is married to a nurse.
He says nurses are leaving the profession, so he wasn't too surprised to hear they are understaffed.
"Hopefully, they'll get more people into schools, nursing schools, college, so they can do more hiring, but the standard should be high," Hardin said.
"We do have a big community and it continues to grow. If anything, I hope they expand," Bill said.
Rowley says they are not limiting patients, but at times they are on diversion.
A diversion means the hospital is full and nonemergent patients could be waiting for a while.
"The flu pandemic this year I hear is going to be really bad. It's already starting already. You may get sick and you may not be able to get the care or the needs that we need. You may need to travel to get medical attention, so it's very concerning," Hardin said.
Rowley could not estimate how long the unit will be closed.
He also was not sure how many nurses they would need to reopen that unit.
Let's take a closer look at the nationwide nursing shortage.
Last year, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses surveyed more than 6,500 nurses.
They said 92% reported that the pandemic had reduced the number of nurses at their hospitals and as a result their careers will be shorter than they intended.
66% said they were considering leaving the profession because of their COVID-19 experiences; and 76% said unvaccinated patients "threatened nurses' physical and mental wellbeing."