Nurse burnout is a huge issue in Utah now more than ever before, especially in rural areas

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — Overworked, understaffed, and underpaid rural working nurses in Utah are burnt out. 

Unfortunately, this is a reality for some nurses across rural Utah; a reality Melissa Hinton knows all too well. 

“Being a nurse in a rural area, you get whatever comes in the door,” Hinton said. 

The University of Utah says that 11 of 29 of Utah’s counties are considered rural, and, in these areas, nursing shortages are becoming the norm. 

“It is affecting our healthcare,” Hinton said. 

With over 30 years of experience in the nursing field, Hinton says it’s gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2022, the American Nurses Association found that 52% of nurses considered leaving their current positions because of insufficient staffing, and burnout is a huge issue. 

“We’re often understaffed.  We just don’t have enough help most of the time. So, nurses are trying to pick up the pieces and that is taxing when you are physically burdened. You know, 12, 13-hour shifts, you go home and there’s barely any sleep time,” Hinton said. 

She says another concern is isolation in these rural areas, impacting both nurses and patients. 

“It has made it difficult for patients to have access to care and care in a timely fashion,” Hinton said. 

Nurses in rural areas often cover a wide region they say with little help. 

Marissa Courtad is the director of nursing for Amazing Care Home Health. She said they have to turn patients away because they don’t have enough staff.   

“For a lot of our patients, not having nurses to be able to go help them often means more frequent hospitalizations and longer hospitalizations and typically by the time they get to the point where they’re willing to be hospitalized, they’re needing a lot more care,” Courtad said. 

Dr. Judy Scott echos that concern. 

“The biggest problem they have out there is getting qualified people that will work and deal with a variety of things,” Scott said. 

Rural healthcare providers say they face other challenges, like funding.  

“Rural organizations are typically smaller organizations that don’t have as much bargaining power for their insurance and benefits so they’re not able to offer as much benefit compensation as their urban counterparts so it’s not as appealing to go into those rural areas for some,” Kasey Shakespeare, executive director of the Rural Health Association of Utah, said.  

Despite these challenges, Hinton believes there is a path forward. 

“If we can engage more nurses from our rural communities to send them back to rural communities where their friends and family are, then we will have more successful nursing care there,” Hinton said.