Your explanation of staffing makes sense.
What is interesting about numbers that are thrown out for the general public is that there is normally not much, if any explanation of just exactly what the numbers mean.
Most news sources would report this as if the available bed numbers were a result of the virus. When in reality as you say it’s a staffing issue.
In my working days I had to deal with the financing of nursing homes.
Untangling the licensed beds from the active beds was quite the challenge—particularly since the owners/operators were not always interested in sharing the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Any newspaper reporter trying to cover these matters would be _way_ over their head. Those who knew anything would never talk to them. Those who would talk to them were either lying or didn’t know anything.
I can only speak for the hospitals that I have first hand knowledge.
One nurse manager had one of her staff come in last week and she and her husband were both going to TX as traveling nurses for nearly 3x their current rate. Of course there are expenses involved with that—but if you are young and no kids it’s like working in an oil boom—you go where the money is and work your ass off.
And yes, Union shops have designated nurse:bed ratios. My wife’s hospital is Union. My daughter’s is not—but the ratios are about the same.
Some older nurses have just called it a day. They know they can go back whenever.
My daughter worked on remote testing sites, and she doesn’t ever want to go back “inside” the hospital.
I am not saying that dead people are stacked up—they are not. Numbers are going up, but the ICUs are available and people are not getting as bad as it was in the spring.