Nurses

Avery Baker is a senior at Southeast Missouri State University. After she graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in December 2024, she will begin her career as a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO.

Avery Baker is a senior at Southeast Missouri State University. After she graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in December 2024, she will begin her career as a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO.

The nurses work at 21 Missouri jails and prisons spread throughout the state, including facilities in Kansas City, St. Louis, Jefferson City, Cameron and Fulton.

Hospitals struggled with a shortage of health care workers before the coronavirus pandemic, but they’re really stretched thin as they admit hundreds of patients with the virus every day. To fill gaps in the workforce, hospitals in the St. Louis region are relying more on temporary workers.