The passage of Assembly Bill 962 in October 2019 came with a far-reaching goal. AB 962 requires California hospitals with operating budgets of $25 million or more to annually collect and post data showing how much of their procurement spend goes to diverse-owned businesses. The bill is intended to expand economic opportunity for minorities, women, LGBT people, and veterans, particularly in marginalized communities, by increasing the amount hospitals spend on supplies and services provided by diverse-owned companies.
COVID-19 has brought unprecedented changes and challenges to the health care workforce. Prior to the pandemic, physicians, nurses and other caregivers were already experiencing record rates of workrelated
burnout or depression. Research on health care workers caring for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic shows an alarming increase in rates of anxiety, depression, insomnia and burnout.
“We’re living in a different world right now – everyone’s wearing masks, we can’t hug each other, everyone is guarded,” said Jeannine Loucks, MSN, RN-BC PMH, manager of the emergency clinical decision unit of the emergency care center at St. Joseph Hospital Orange. “We’re doing whatever it takes to get the job done for maintaining the safety of our
patients but it’s the uncertainty, the fear of the unknown, that’s difficult. Staff are asking themselves, ‘Am I going to bring the coronavirus home to my family? How do I manage my own fears?’”
