ER doctors report pay cuts in at least six states: report

Emergency room workers in several states are reportedly facing pay cuts as hospitals struggle financially during the coronavirus outbreak.

Workers in at least six states told CBS News that they have taken pay reductions of up to 40 percent as many doctors and nurses also see reduced hours for their work week.

The reduction in staffing hours and pay means that many doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic are feeling higher stress than usual as they deal with highly contagious patients with fewer colleagues to assist them.

“I think it’s possible” some emergency rooms are so inadequately staffed lives may now be at risk, Dr. Leslie Simon of the Mayo Clinic told CBS News. “I also think a lot of them are at risk for closing.”

“You go through the stages of grief when you get a pay cut,” Simon added, noting that she personally took a 10 percent pay reduction. “And we all did.”

Many hospitals, which receive most of their revenue from elective procedures, are struggling financially as those procedures are canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Staffing reductions come as many states are still struggling to control the growth of coronavirus across the U.S. The U.S. has registered more than 780,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and more than 117,000 hospitalizations due to the disease, according to Johns Hopkins.