Although area hospitals aren't reporting problems with patient care, Harshey-Mead said, the quality of care is an increasing concern as the shortage persists. We also are concerned about how much overtime nurses work,'' she said. A lack of nurses recently forced Riverside to close three operating rooms through June, delaying some elective surgeries, said spokesman Mark Hopkins. The closures help safeguard the quality of care, hospital officials say. Traveling nurses, in a sense, help stop the bleeding.
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They get paid slightly more than staff nurses and often are promised jobs in the cities they request, said Amber Marzullo, a recruiter with American Mobile. Traveling nurses generally tend to be younger and unattached. The demand for placements is growing nationwide. American Mobile has 3,000 placements and 6,000 unfilled positions, Marzullo said. To hire a traveling nurse, a hospital generally pays nearly twice as much, excluding benefits, as for a staff nurse.