Nurses Fleeing Overcrowded, Understaffed Hospitals, according to WebMD and other sources


“Home Rule’s mission is to deliver excellent and personalized patient-centered care. Nurses who are purpose-driven in areas of compassion find great fulfillment in their work with Home Rule.” –Chris Houck, Director of Operations

Nursing shortage? What nursing shortage? WebMD, USA Today, and other sources have recently written about nurses fleeing hospitals in a so-called “nursing shortage.”

But as the reader scrolls down the articles, they soon realize there is not necessarily a nursing shortage per se, but more of a shortage of nurses willing to work in overcrowded conditions.

So, what can be done about the mass exodus of nurses who can no longer handle their larger workloads? That solution may be embodied in two words: Home Nursing. That’s according to Home Rule CEO Christy McGlothlin, whose motto is: One nurse for one patient in one home℠ and has announced today her company’s expansion, seeking 250 new nurses for the company based in Hickory, North Carolina.

Home Rule specializes in placing skilled nurses in homes. Their management believes their one-on-one home patient care is can be a welcome alternative to a handful of nurses in a hospital trying to care for hundreds of patients with diverse needs.

Home Rule specializes in caring for children and young adults who often have chronic lung conditions, frequently with tracheostomies, feeding tubes, or ventilators. The care and diligence provided by Home Rule nurses often help patients avoid lengthy hospital stays.

Home Rule CEO Christy McGlothlin founded her company primarily because of her experiences with her own special needs child. Said McGlothlin, “After spending more than 100 days in hospitals with our daughter, I lost count of how many times I heard nurses and doctors say how children often thrive in a home environment. So, I thought, what’s to stop me from launching a home nursing agency to help others avoid lengthy hospital stays? And that’s just what I did.”

McGlothlin added, “In addition to nursing care, we train our nurses to maintain a clean home environment to fore the best outcome for patients.”

This vision is a welcome relief to caregivers who have special needs children at home and want to stay with them but cannot be “Nurse Mommy” or “Nurse Daddy” 24 hours a day.

The USA Today October 11, 2021 commentary underscored the need for hospital staff to get some relief by featuring a Florida hospital with a significant shortage of nurses. Here is a snippet illustrating the dearth of nurses:

“The pandemic took the unsafe staffing to nightmare levels. In late August, registered nurses in the emergency department at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, reported shifts with more than 20 patients assigned to one staff nurse and one charge nurse (who should be a resource, not have a full patient load). We sometimes have patients overflowing the lobby, waiting ridiculous hours to be triaged, examined, and treated. But we have to fight every step of the way to get the hospital to staff up for these patients,” said Mawata Kamara, an emergency department registered nurse at San Leandro Hospital in San Leandro, California.”

That article also gave this eye-opening example illustrating hospital staffing challenges: “At Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, medical/surgical nurses report being overwhelmed with six patients at once, some of them too critical for that unit.”

And this statement by a nurse: “When employers force us to make impossible choices between patients, during 12-hour shifts with no time to eat or use the bathroom, is it any wonder nurses leave?”

Christy McGlothlin’s home nursing company is willing to stand in the gap and is expanding quickly. She is currently advertising for 250 new nurses to hire and place in homes to care for patients whose caregivers are uncertain they can receive an optimal level of care in hospitals or other facilities, especially in areas where Covid-19 patients dominate a disproportionate amount of hospital resources.

Home Rule’s Director of Operations Chris Houck said, “Home Rule’s mission is to deliver excellent and personalized patient-centered care. We are here to assist our patients in reaching their highest potential and living their best life. Nurses who are purpose-driven in areas of compassion find great fulfillment in their work with Home Rule.”

More information about Home Rule and the services they provide are available at: https://HomeRule.net/ or by calling 919-800-8017 or emailing christy@homerule.net

Nurses seeking employment may submit their resumes online at: https://www.homerule.net/careers to become part of the Home Rule team.

One nurse for one patient for one home℠ is a service mark of Home Rule LLC.

About Chris Houck…

Chris Houck currently serves as Director of Operations of Home Rule LLC, a home nursing provider based in Hickory, North Carolina. Over the last twenty years, Mr. Houck has worked in multiple capacities in the healthcare industry, from behavioral health care to intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) services. In addition, he has had the opportunity to supervise multiple different programs and services throughout his career.

About Christy McGlothlin…

Christy McGlothlin is the CEO of Home Rule LLC, a home care nursing service based in North Carolina, a book author, and mother of 7 children including one special needs daughter.

Home Rule website: https://www.HomeRule.net/

CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin, 919-437-0001 jerry@homerule.net

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