A Phenomenological Study on the Challenges Faced by Nebraska Hospitals During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) presented hospitals not only with significant clinical challenges but also with organizational obstacles, forcing hospitals to adapt their operations to ensure continuity of care. This study aims to explore the challenges that Nebraska hospitals encountered during COVID-19. To achieve this goal, the study draws on data collected through semi-structured interviews with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Nurse Officers (CNOs) of eight hospitals in the state of Nebraska. These incident commanders held pivotal decision-making positions in their associated hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic and its surge times. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, revealing nine key themes related to the challenges faced by hospital leaders. The main challenges included difficulties with hospital operational procedures, issues related to physical layout design, concerns over insufficient capacity to meet patient demand, disruptions in the supply chain affecting essential resources, challenges in managing hospital staff effectively, barriers in communication within and across departments, infrastructure deficiencies that impacted functionality, financial constraints, and complexities in organizational management. These themes are accompanied by their respective sub-themes and supporting quotes from interview transcripts within this paper. The insights from this study can inform healthcare leaders to develop more efficient operational frameworks to navigate public health crises.