The biggest concern for nurses in Tennessee is the availability of personal protective equipment, according to a new survey.
A Tennessee Nurses Association survey of more than 470 nurses in the state showed 48% of nurses in West and East Tennessee and 42% in Middle Tennessee feel that their work environments are ill-equipped to handle COVID-19 cases.
Just over half of nurses in Tennessee feel their workplace is equipped to handle COVID-19 cases, but only 39% of nurses who work in large hospitals and medical centers said they felt their employer supported them in protecting themselves and others from the novel coronavirus.
Tina Gerardi, executive director of the Tennessee Nurses Association, said the survey was initiated after state health officials heard of concerns from nurses about the lack of PPE at hospitals.
Across the board, most nurses from all work environments and regions in Tennessee reported that their main concern was a lack of PPE, supplies and tests and staffing levels as COVID-19 cases increase.
Gerardi said the results confirmed what the TNA had thought and what stories were coming from hospitals all over the country.
An interesting story from the data, Gerardi said, was the slight "disconnect" from nurses feeling like they were personally prepared for COVID-19 cases compared to how they felt their hospitals were prepared.
More than 47% of nurses who responded said they do not feel prepared for COVID-19. Over 30% said they agreed or strongly agreed that they felt prepared, while 22.6% were neutral.
However, nearly 72% of nurses agreed or strongly agreed that they felt knowledgeable about COVID-19.
"The nurses felt that they personally were prepared," Gerardi said. "They understood the virus and the infection control related to it, but they didn't feel that they were prepared for it."
After looking at the open-ended questions in the survey, Gerardi said the worry from nurses across the state kept going back to a lack of PPE.
"Even though they felt their employer was being open with them and sharing things with them, they really just didn't feel that they had enough equipment," she said.
Only 27% of nurses in West Tennessee and 24% in East Tennessee feel like they are prepared for COVID-19, compared to 38% in Middle Tennessee.
Nurses in larger hospitals said they feel less prepared than those in smaller hospitals. Gerardi said the reason for the difference is based on equipment.
"The Middle Tennessee area seems to be feel more prepared. They were not seeing the shortage of equipment that they were seeing in East and West Tennessee," Gerardi said. "When you think about the demographics and the health care system across the state, intuitively it makes sense."
Gerardi said hospitals in rural areas don't have access to the same supply chain as areas with larger health care systems in place.
About 64% of nurses in small hospitals said they feel ill-equipped to handle COVID-19 cases, an indicator of the country's short supply and access to PPEs.
The 12-question survey was sent to TNA members and posted on TNA's social media pages. It was open from March 18 to March 25.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.