As Hospitals Lose Revenue, Thousands Of Health Care Workers Face Furloughs, Layoffs

Michelle Sweeney could barely sleep. The nurse in Plymouth, Mass., had just learned she would be furloughed. She only had four hours the next day to call all of her patients.

"I was in a panic state. I was sick over it," Sweeney said. "Our patients are the frailest, sickest group."

Sweeney works for Atrius Health as a case manager for patients with chronic health conditions and those who have been discharged from the hospital or emergency room.

"It's very devaluing, like a slap in the face," Sweeney said. "Nursing is who you are ... I've never been unemployed my entire life."

It's an ironic twist as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the nation: The very workers tasked with treating those afflicted with the virus are losing work in droves. Emergency room visits are down. Non-urgent surgical procedures have largely been put on hold. Health care spending in the first three months of the year. And more than 40,000 health care workers lost their jobs in March, , which is