California desperately searches for more nurses and doctors

SAN FRANCISCO: Since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States, Sara Houze has been on the road — going from one hospital to another to care for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients on the brink of death.

A cardiac intensive care nurse from Washington, D.C., with expertise in heart rhythm, airway and pain management, her skills are in great demand as infections and hospitalizations skyrocket nationwide. Houze is among more than 500 nurses, doctors and other medical staff California has brought in and deployed to hospitals that are running out of capacity to treat the most severe Covid-19 cases.