As another surge of COVID cases continues to increase, Valley nurses said they're burnt out and want help.

East Liverpool City Hospital has declared a "staffing crisis" and the nurses said the hospital is not doing enough to take care of the front-line workers.

"Nurses are burnt out," Melissa Cain, an East Liverpool City Hospital nurse said, "We're not getting any help. We reach out for help and we're not getting any help. It's like this whole issue's been put on the back burner."

Front line workers in East Liverpool City Hospital said they're down 20 nurses, not including those out with COVID, and said it's gotten worse since the Delta variant has become rampant. 

"They have a backlog of patients not only in the waiting room to be seen but also patients that should be admitted up to the floor," Cain said, "There is no staff to take care of them."

Union nurses said recruiting continues to be a challenge and are asking the hospital for incentives such as the increased "pandemic pay" they received last year.

"Within 48 hours [of reaching out to nurses about the staffing shortage], we had close to 75% of our members saying that, yes, we need relief, we need pandemic pay, we need additional bonuses," Anne Mueller, Ohio Nurses Association Labor Representative said.

Cain said the issue is the hospital is having a difficult time recruiting enough nurses and said other area hospitals are paying workers considerably more. 

"We're asking for some sort of motivation for us to come in and give those other hours," she said, "Our ER is backed up. The nurses are overwhelmed."

The nurses union provided a memo from the hospital's chief medical officer saying the staffing crises may result in changes, stating in part: "This may alter the process for medical removal for covid-19 exposure or illness." Mueller said there's concern this could mean more exposure to COVID.

East Liverpool City Hospital said in a statement in response to the staffing situation, "East Liverpool City Hospital, like every hospital in the our nation, is facing a staffing challenge as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our healthcare teams are providing excellent healthcare to our patients, all services are open, and the safety of our staff and patients is our priority. We value our nursing team and have implemented crisis compensation programs, and health and wellness support, in addition to launching a registered nurse recruitment campaign within the region. It is always our goal at East Liverpool City Hospital to provide our staff, nurses, and healthcare teams with the support they need to keep our community healthy and safe."