800 nurses from St.
Mary Medical Center, in the Philadelphia area, walked out Tuesday to protest hospital understaffing.
As the third wave of coronavirus cases hits the country, hospitals are reaching capacity as hospital workers continue to suffer from burnout.
According to Business Insider, the US reported a record 67,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations on November 12.
But the issues nurses are striking over — caring for too many patients at once, understaffed hospitals, and burnout — existed prior to the pandemic.
One study in the Journal of Nursing Administration found adding 10% more nurses to hospitals can reduce the odds a patient will die by 4%.