Ohio hospitals seeing patients in the waiting room amid a surge

Columbus, Ohio — Health officials said Friday that some patients are being seen in the waiting room because hospitals in Ohio are overwhelmed by COVID-19.

What you need to know

• Ohio reports record COVID-19 hospitalizations and surprisingly high positive rates
• The surge has peaked in the Cleveland region, but may be delayed for several weeks in other regions.
• Hospitals are postponing more selective surgery to deal with record-breaking virus surges

The Cleveland, Akron, and Canton regions report the highest number of cases in the state, but hospitalizations in central Ohio have reached record levels, and authorities expect a surge in the coming weeks. increase.

The Cleveland Clinic has sent medical staff to the waiting rooms of some hospitals to see patients waiting for beds in the emergency room, said Dr. Robert Wiley, Chief Medical Operations Officer for the medical system. , Confirmed in the news of the Ministry of Health of Ohio. meeting.

“The reason some people are seen in the waiting room is because there is no additional room in the emergency department,” Wiley said. “We have staff in the waiting area and don’t miss anyone who has a heart attack and needs immediate intervention, who has stroke symptoms, or who needs oxygen therapy to have COVID. Triaged like this .. “

A hospital in northern Ohio, backed by the Ohio Guard, has decided to cancel selective outpatient surgery that does not require hospitalization in order to shift staff to care for inpatients. Wiley said. Previously, Ohio hospitals stopped only elective surgery, which may require an overnight stay in the hospital bed.

In central Ohio, all hospitals jointly discontinued elective surgery requiring inpatient beds on Thursday. This measure is valid for at least two weeks, said Dr. Andrew Thomas, Chief Clinical Officer, Wexner, Ohio.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of health at Ohio, said the state is in the midst of an “Omicron tsunami” that is destroying hospitals.

“In reality, Ohio is now facing historic challenges in terms of the incredible demands and pressures placed on hospitals,” said Vanderhoff. “This is as serious as we’ve seen, and our hospital must make extraordinary efforts to provide beds and the care needed to the most sick patients in the state as a whole. I can’t. “

As of the latest update on Thursday, a record 6,540 patients were admitted to COVID-19 in Ohio, and 1,314 patients were being treated in intensive units.

Omicron variants cause less severe illnesses than previous strains of the virus, but according to Vanderhoff, the raw amount of infection is stressing the state’s medical system, with about 20,000 people daily. It is positive, almost double the previous record last winter.

“It’s not surprising to see an unprecedented number of hospitalizations, as so many people are infected and about one-third of the population still lacks vaccine protection,” Vanderhoff said. I am saying.

At Ohio State University and the Cleveland Clinic, Thomas and Wiley said medical staff supported the news that Ohio State University was coming to support Ohio State University hospitals.

Ohio Deputy General John Harris, Jr. works in a team of 10 people, with more than 1,200 members of the Ohio National Guard stationed to assist the hospital and more than 1,000 additional guards. Members will be deployed by early next week, he said. ..

According to Harris, about 140 service members are part of a bedside medical team, with the majority performing nonclinical tasks in the hospital. Preparing and running trays, cleaning surfaces, rotating beds, manipulating test conditions, and more.

The Cleveland Clinic said that almost all cases of COVID-19 currently detected are variants of Omicron.

“It’s starting to wipe out the Delta,” Wiley said. “At this point, there are few cases of Delta.”

According to the latest analysis from the hospital, 75% of patients admitted with COVID-19 are not vaccinated, but an even higher percentage of patients using intensive care units or ventilators are vaccinated. Is not …

Authorities report an astonishing positive rate on a new mass testing site backed by Ohio National Guard.At the Walker Building test site Cleveland, Over 38% of tests are back positive, new test sites Columbus According to officials, the positive rate is over 40%.

In Kaiyahoga County, authorities believe cases have peaked and expect hospitalizations to decline soon. According to Wiley, the COVID-19 quarantine lacks approximately 3,000 nonclinical staff daily in the healthcare system, but staff numbers are beginning to improve, especially as the quarantine period has been reduced by five days. increase.

Thomas said the worst was still likely to occur in central Ohio, and believes that the peak number of COVID-19 is 10-14 days behind northern Ohio. Southwestern Ohio appears to be about 10-14 days behind central Ohio, he said. According to modeling, Ohio’s surge in Ohio is expected to peak near the end of the month, Thomas said.

Authorities said the virus situation was very harsh, but hoped that as the population gained more immunity, the number of viruses would decline significantly following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

“We continue to cross our fingers to see the same declines we’ve seen in South Africa, perhaps not so sharply, but we’re hoping to see a steady decline, and we’re the first. I think I have an inking, which is currently in northern Ohio, “says Wiley.