In an extraordinary move, the state of Delaware, along with Delaware hospitals, now seek hundreds of volunteers to fill open positions at hospitals—both clinical and nonclinical positions. According to Delaware Online on Jan. 24, hospitals face severe staffing shortages, because of nurses leaving for better jobs or quitting for mental health reasons or burnout. In addition, the omicron surge affects staffing, with hospital workers that get exposed to the virus unable to work. Dr. Ken Silverstein, chief physician executive for ChristianaCare, said “we’ve reached the point where we are overwhelmed with the demand for our services.”
The Institute for Justice discovered in 2018 that about 22% of West Virginia workers need a license to work. According to WBOY on Jan. 24, a new paper by the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy takes a look at occupational licensing reform for those West Virginians. The paper recommends increased oversight for occupational licensing boards; specifically, the paper, Who Watches the Watchmen: An Examination of Oversight of Licensing Boards in West Virginia, Part One, recommends the creation of a licensing ombudsman.
The Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board suspended the license of a Rochester teacher for 60 months for his inappropriate conduct with students. According to the Post Bulletin on Jan. 21, a report by the board called Gregory Schoenbeck’s actions “grossly inappropriate for a number of reasons.” He routinely sent two students texts and emails and followed them on social media. He also challenged the students to take selfies in various outfits and poses and send them to him; he allegedly purchased tights for one of the students for the challenge.
During the pandemic, telemedicine increased significantly; according to WebMD on Jan. 24, between January and May of 2020; telepsychiatry went from 7% of appointments to 85.5%. And during that period, all U.S. governors declared emergencies, with many waiving licensing requirements to enable mental health care across state lines using the internet. The number of states with emergency declarations now numbers 22, with emergency licensure provisions set to expire in other states. Margaret Distler, MD, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, says “perhaps we should think about interstate treatment, because psychiatric treatment now is a short-term, and not a long-term plan.”
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