LONGWOOD, Fla. – Despite the heavy demands at many hospitals are under to treat COVID-19 patients and many others, there is shortage nationwide of nurses - and the staff at Orlando Health South Seminole said they’re seeing the effects too.
“Really, nurses are the backbone of the healthcare team,” said Brigit Zamora, the chief nursing officer at Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital.
Zamora said they have about 550 nurses at Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital and they’re hoping to hire about 30-40 additional nurses. She said all of them will be trained to administer the COVID-19 vaccine if necessary.
Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital is looking to fill various roles during a hiring event this month.
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“We specifically have a real need for them in our ICU’s and progressive care units,” said Zamora. “This will allow us to increase the bandwidth within the hospital, so that we can utilize nurses as we need to in different ways.”
According to a flyer for the event, the hospital is after “stellar” registered nurses, graduate nurses and certified nursing assistants.
Various shifts are available including part-time, full-time and pool.
The hiring event is scheduled for Jan. 22 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and again from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Interviews will be held in person and on site. To RSVP, click or tap here.
News 6 also reached out to other Central Florida hospitals about staffing needs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Frank Faust, executive director of marketing at UF Health The Villages Hospital, said COVID-19 cases have been on a “steep decline” dropping 35% in the past two weeks.
“We have done everything possible to maintain adequate staffing levels, including the use of travel nurses, in order to address the significant surge and continue to provide high-quality care to our patients,” Fraust said. “We greatly appreciate the dedicated work of our nurses, medical staff and support staff during the past few months — they are truly heroes.”
UF Health Central Florida hospitals, including in Leesburg and The Villages have developed a recruitment strategy to meet the current demand for nursing staff.
The Villages Hospital currently employs 420 nurses.