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Hospitals tell Senate staffing, not beds, is the limiting factor as ICU use rises
Summary
Hospital leaders told the committee that Arkansas hospitals are at or surpassing prior peaks of ICU and ventilator use and that the main constraint is clinical staffing. They urged legislative support to retain and recruit nurses amid competitive travel-nurse pay.
Hospital executives told the Senate committee that Arkansas is facing a staffing crisis even as bed counts remain flexible.
"Hospitals are full. They're at capacity," Beau Ryle, president and CEO of the Arkansas Hospital Association, told lawmakers, reporting around 451 ICU patients and roughly 3 percent of ICU beds available statewide. He said travel-nurse rates have jumped rapidly in recent weeks.
Greg Crane, president of Baptist Health's central region, painted…
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