...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts up to 35 kt and seas
6 to 9 feet.
* WHERE...Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu Leeward Waters, Kaiwi
Channel, Maui County Windward Waters, Maui County Leeward
Waters, Maalaea Bay, Big Island Leeward Waters and Big Island
Southeast Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Friday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Nearly 250 traveling nurses are expected to begin work in Hawaii's hospitals as early as next week.
Originally, state hospital leaders expected support staff to start arriving on Jan. 10. But now that start date has been postponed by a week as the state's request for additional federal funds remain up in the air.
"We did make a decision on Friday [Jan. 7] to initiate bringing in the first wave of workers in anticipation that the funding would be confirmed," explained Hilton Raethel, president of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.
It's a decision that comes after more than 50 new COVID patients were admitted to Hawaii's hospitals this past weekend alone.
"The need has increased fairly dramatically," Raethel said. "On Friday [Jan. 7] we had 247 COVID hospitalized patients in our hospitals. As of [Jan. 10] morning, we had 311."
Nearly 250 traveling nurses are now headed to the islands. They're expected to undergo training at the end of this week, and start working on the hospital floors as soon as Jan. 17.
Of those incoming staff members is Minnestoa resident Kayla Lyman. She has been a traveling nurse for the past 18 months, working in COVID units across the country.
"I've been working literally face-to-face with patients from the beginning," Lyman explained. "In my current position I was in the ER and I was probably performing CPR on 6 to 12 patients a day."
As the state continues to record unprecedented COVID case numbers, she said she knows how critical it is to get additional staff on the floor.
No stranger to working in overpopulated and under staffed facilities, Lyman admitted working as a traveling nurse takes a toll both mentally and physically.
She said that the challenges of being a traveling nurse extend far beyond what meets the eye. She said concerns surrounding living situations, adjusting to new work environments, and not being able go home at night are always on the back of her mind.
Still, in being a nurse during this ongoing health crisis, she's motivated to provide care to those in need.