COVID Surge has a hospital in Jackson, Josephine County, treating patients in the corridor

Asante and Providence Hospitals in Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass say they are overcapacity despite a flood of new cases of delta variants.

County Health Department and local hospital staff gathered for a press conference Thursday morning, where they painted a disastrous picture of what they were seeing on the hospital floor.

“If you come to our hospital for any reason, we may not be able to help you,” says Amanda Kotler, Vice President of Nursing at Asante. “We’re out of bed, the staff are tense, and we have limited resources. We’re working hard, but we’re running out of choices.”

According to hospitals in the area, emergency waiting rooms are crowded with up to 50 people at a time, and many have to wait up to 6 hours before seeing a doctor. Hospital staff need to treat patients in the corridor because there is not enough space.

“And if we need to, we may start using cribs in the meeting rooms,” says Jason Cool, Chief Medical Officer at Providence Medford Medical Center.

Jim Shames, Jackson County Medical Director, says there were 99 new cases during the week of July 4. Last week, the county set a record high for 655 new cases.

On Thursday, the county reported 416 new cases in one day.

“We have surpassed what we have seen about this disease,” says Shames.

According to Shames, the health department cannot keep up with case studies, so patients rely on contacting people if they test positive for the coronavirus.

The surge in severe coronavirus cases is the treatment people need for other illnesses and emergencies, as wildfire smoke chokes the area for several days in a row, creating the needs of more patients. Is also postponed.

“We have a lot of exacerbations of asthma,” says Kuhl. “There are stroke patients. There are patients who need treatment for cancer and heart disease.”

Asante says he had to cancel 350 surgeries.

“It’s 350 people who may be in pain or need life-saving treatment and have to wait,” Kotler says.

The ability to test for coronavirus is also a burden. Michael Weber, director of public health in Josephine County, said many organizations have reduced their testing capabilities as demand for testing fell over the spring. Now they are overwhelmed.

“We’re expanding now, but we’ve been struggling a bit over the last few weeks to effectively meet demand,” says Weber.

Weber added that hospitals have recently seen unprecedented demand for assistance.

“This is by far the worst we’ve seen since COVID began,” says Weber. “This is the worst condition our hospital has ever seen. I don’t think anyone can remember when there was so much pressure on our healthcare system.”

Despite the influx of incidents, Josephine County is still hosting a county fair on Wednesday. Everyone is required to wear a mask.

According to Shames, there have been 2,741 cases in Jackson County since July 4. About 5 percent of all people hospitalized for the coronavirus were vaccinated.

“We have very effective tools to help the spread of COVID and protect our community: vaccination and masking,” says Shames. “Our vaccine is very safe and very effective. Masks worn to protect each other from illness are a proven strategy that can help turn this around. So do this yourself and Go for all of us. “

Jackson County needs to vaccinate more people than any other county in the state to reach an 80% vaccination rate. According to state data, about 57% of adults over the age of 18 are vaccinated. Still, local officials say less than half of all people covered by the vaccine, including teens, are vaccinated.

On Tuesday night, the county urged state officials to help healthcare providers in Jackson and Josephine counties establish a 300-bed field hospital that could divert non-essential patients. Asante, the county’s largest hospital system, says it needs an additional 185 staff to meet demand, and Providence needs an additional 34 staff.

The county’s request also called for the ability to redirect 60 COVID patients to long-term care facilities that nurses can monitor, regardless of age.

Asante has three hospitals in Jackson and Josephine counties and accepts patients from the surrounding rural areas. Kotler, vice president of nursing, said he had to refuse the transfer of 200 patients.

Therefore, in areas like Curry County, patients need to be transferred to other states such as Idaho, California, and Nevada.

In another interview with JPR, Curry Health Network CEO Ginny Williams said the hospital had to transfer patients to Reno.

“We definitely feel the impact,” says Williams. “We also have a limited number of staff. Protecting them is our number one priority.”

Williams adds that the demand for rapid COVID testing is also skyrocketing in Curry County. She says the pharmacy shelves, which were once full of takeaway tests, are now empty.

Williams expects demand to increase when Brown’s order for nurses to be vaccinated or tested weekly comes into force on September 30. She doesn’t say what percentage of the hospital workforce is vaccinated.

During the press conference, representatives of Asante and Providence hospitals also did not say what percentage of their staff were vaccinated.

Christopher Pizzi, CEO of Providence Medford Medical Center, said Brown’s mission would be “a significant business.”

“The details for operating such a thing still need to be resolved,” says Pizzasi.