Health
Close to the capacity of IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital
Muncie, Indiana — Since the general resumption of selective services after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital has been fighting the virus and addressing other medical needs in the community.
Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and the increasing need for emergency rooms, the hospital is now almost at full capacity.
In mid-May, Jeff Bird, president of IU Health’s East Central Region, said The Star Press Ball Memorial focused on the “next” normal reopening part of the hospital.
The plan includes a two-week period during which up to 25% of normal volume is obtained with emergency or selective procedures, with an expected increase of 18 or 20% in inpatient, outpatient, and outpatient visits every two weeks thereafter. It was done.
Now, as September approaches the end, officials say the hospital will approach full capacity and the volume of hospitalizations, outpatients, and procedures will return to pre-COVID levels.
Dr. Ryan Johnston, Associate Chief of Healthcare at BMH, said: “This community has a great healthcare team that continues to provide superior healthcare in a changing healthcare environment in nearly an hour. Our process and long-term readiness.”
Johnston told Starpress on September 16 that hospitals are experiencing a large number of patients with sufficiently high medical needs who need hospital care.
The Ball Memorial experienced patient backlogs due to the inability to perform certain procedures early in the pandemic, but Johnstone Hospital said it processed the backlogs within two to four weeks.
Hospitals are a finite resource, and if demand is high, waiting times for treatment can be long, Johnston said.
“Our facility has the capacity to accommodate more than 300 patients who require different levels of inpatient care,” Johnston said. “We have experienced an increase in patient numbers in the past few weeks, resulting in the use of beds in all hospitals and sometimes even exceeding our capacity, which is rare even before our COVID pandemic crisis. It’s not that. “
In addition, COVID-19-related hospitalizations have surged at this hospital within the last two weeks. Currently, the emergency department of the hospital still has a “breathing pod” where people suspected of COVID-19 are placed.
Two weeks ago, the hospital had more than 25 COVID-19 patients, compared to those in their late teens and late 20s in early spring.
“At one point this week, we had more COVID patients in our hospital than at any other time during the pandemic,” Johnston said on September 16. Historically, it’s normal for us at this time. “
The IU health system typically includes both COVID-19-positive patients and patients under investigation (PUI) as a total. According to Johnston, PUI must be treated as COVID positive until excluded, which can be capacity-intensive if isolation rooms are needed.
Over the past two weeks, the Ball Memorial has experienced a total of approximately 50 COVID-positive and PUI patients. This is up from where the hospital went to most of the summer, when the number averaged about 20-25 patients.
Return to “normal”
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, physiotherapist Nicole Powell was taking on a new role at IU Health BMH.
In late March, the off-site clinic where she normally worked was closed except for essential patients, so she moved from an outpatient rehabilitation service on Bethel Avenue to the hospital.
As the ball memorial has stopped accepting volunteers and students due to the virus, various positions have been opened and offered to employees within the healthcare system.
For about four months, Powell screens patients for the virus in the hospital’s cancer center, becomes a “hug” in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and assists nurses when the baby becomes noisy. , Played various roles.
She also helped with nutritional services by helping patients eat and prepare meals. At one point she was moving scrubs in and out of hospital employees.
By mid-June, Powell was able to return to physiotherapy work as the hospital began resuming public services. She gave new respect to hospital workers by being able to experiment with different roles.
“For me, it was a short break to break down my normal routine, explore different areas of the hospital and meet new people I wouldn’t have been able to meet before,” Powell said. ..
Initially the situation was slow, but by July 4, the outpatient clinic was back in full operation, Powell said.
Powell wasn’t the only one to switch roles during the pandemic. Johnston told Starpress that most of the staff had returned to normal positions by early July. Meanwhile, the new positions added for pandemics such as screening stations remain the same.
“I’m very proud of the flexibility of our team and the ability to adapt through it,” Johnston said. “I think this challenge has shown the team’s commitment to the value, compassion, purpose and excellence of IU health.
When to use the emergency department
Hospital officials recommend that residents use only the emergency department as beds continue to fill up A true emergencyIncludes chest pain, stroke symptoms, shortness of breath or other emergency symptoms.
The hospital also lists fractures, wounds requiring sutures, head injuries, symptoms of severe colds and flu, loss of consciousness, burns, and severe abdominal pain as reasons to use the department.
In non-emergency situations, including sprains, urinary tract infections, rashes, and common illnesses, Johnston suggested that patients visit a healthcare provider to discuss treatment.
“It’s important to make sure that the most sick patients in the community have the resources available to treat them when they need them,” Johnston said.
During the early months of the pandemic, all IU Health Hospitals imposed strict restrictions on visitors. These restrictions are now lifted, allowing controlled visits. But Johnston said there are still restrictions on anyone suspected of being infected with the virus. The hospital always provides masks for visitors to wear.
Johnston recommends keeping masks on the public side, keeping social distances, practicing frequent and thorough hand hygiene, and avoiding all high-risk situations to avoid overcrowding in hospitals. He said he should try.
Johnston said that with the upcoming flu season, the symptoms will overlap, further increasing the likelihood of a combined COVID-19 and flu infection. He recommends flu shots every year, but this year is very important.
“This isn’t the end,” Johnston said. “Most of us know that we want to return to normal pre-COVID life, but we should encourage our community to stay vigilant.”
Charlotte Stefanski is a Star Press reporter. Contact her (765-283-5543, cstefanski @ muncie.gannett.com) or follow her on Twitter @CharStefanski.
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