Arizona offers funding help to understaffed Phoenix-area hospitals

The state of Arizona is stepping in to help hospitals suffering with severe staffing shortages amid a third wave of COVID-19.

Gov. Doug Ducey announced Sept. 1 that the state would allocate $60 million from the Arizona Department of Health Services to help health systems fill much-needed open positions, namely skilled nurses, as the coronavirus shows no signs of slowing down. But there’s a catch: the hospitals must be administering monoclonal antibody treatments and offering COVID-19 vaccines to patients when they’re discharged.

“Arizona’s health care professionals and all frontline workers are heroes, without a doubt,” Ducey said in a statement announcing the move. “We are working to make sure they have the resources they need.”