NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Children's hospitals are feeling the brunt of the nursing shortage as home care nurses continue to leave the industry. Medical experts say many are underpaid in a segment of health care that isn't widely known about and competes against hospitals and long-term care facilities.
It's a tightrope act for families like the Jenkins as the family cares for three medically sensitive children.
The family had four nurses at the beginning of the pandemic, but now they're down to one.
"I can't be Annabelle's mother, I have to be her nurse," Judy Jenkins said.
Annabelle has Marshall-Smith syndrome and needs loving care. Four nurses would cover 168 hours a week for the family, but then the pandemic hit.
Now, outside of 48 hours with one nurse, Judy does it all with the help of her husband.
"When we started this whole thing, we never dreamt it would be an issue not getting any nurses," she told WCNC Charlotte.
Jenkins said she can't be the mother she would like to be, administering feeding through IV, checking all the machines, and keeping her baby girl happy.
The family lives in Texas but it's an issue seen across the nation.
"We can't find enough nurses to fulfill the hours that hospitals and the states have already approved as needed to help kids inside their own homes," Sarah Walmsley, who works with Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care, said.
She said it's all about competitive pay in a climate where people are being paid more at places like gas stations or fast food restaurants.
"In pediatric home care, there are lower reimbursement rates than you would see at hospitals or long-term care facilities. We don't get paid through state Medicaid well enough to be competitive with those places," Walmsley explained.
She said Thrive provides care for more than 120 children throughout North Carolina and 40 children in the Charlotte and Hickory area.
Part of the problem is that home care nurses generally get paid $30 to $45 an hour whereas in hospitals nurses can make up to $70.
Walmsley believes that if advocacy is created around the issue, more state governments will take notice.
In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper's proposed budget includes a plan to increase pay permanently for nurses who work for vulnerable people and in homes.
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.