With the proliferation of Covid-19 hospitalizations, there is a shortage of health care workers in some places.What can happen next

“But if the virus is very widespread, it is very likely that there will be a shortage of health care workers, which means that patient care will suffer, and we will reach the limits of the hospital. Will reach. “

Record hospitalization

According to health experts, this fall’s Covid-19 onslaught is the result of people who neglected safety measures due to more indoor socializing, school reopening, and pandemic malaise.

According to the Covid Tracking Project, 61,964 patients nationwide were hospitalized for Covid-19 on Tuesday. This is the highest number since the pandemic began.

“We are already seeing hospitals at marginal points in some parts of the country, which means that it doesn’t just affect patients with the coronavirus,” Wen said.

“It also means that elective surgery has been postponed due to hip arthroplasty, cancer surgery, and in some cases heart surgery.”

And the crisis is expected to get worse. According to Johns Hopkins University, a record 136,325 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the United States on Tuesday.

And the massive surge of new infectious diseases will lead to more hospitalizations and deaths in the next few weeks.

“Unfortunately, I think the statement about the’new record’will be repeated many times,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Public Health at Brown University.

“Since the pandemic began, infections have certainly increased, and I think that number will continue to increase. Hospitalizations will continue to increase.”

When the hospital can no longer accept patients

In Idaho, some patients who require a hysterectomy or joint replacement have to wait.

“We say no to selective procedures that require an overnight stay.”

Idaho was one of the 17 states with the highest number of patients admitted to Covid-19 on Monday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

“We couldn’t separate the patient, but we had to transfer the patient to one of our sister hospitals in Boise, where we have some capacity,” Khan said, about two hours from Twin Falls. I mentioned in. Southeast of the capital.

“Basically, based on the staffing available to us, when the hospital is full, we say no to additional patients. So we will be patients with our own ER. Then ambulances, helicopters , Or need to move to Boise via a fixed-wing aircraft. ”

Even patients who do not have the coronavirus suffer from a pandemic.

“There is a big backlog for hysterectomy … knee replacement, hip replacement-anything that can be postponed,” he said.

“Is it the best? Never. If someone needs spine surgery or hysterectomy, it’s a borderline whether it’s really selective. But we’re so strict for our staff, so You have to make those decisions. “

Doctors who volunteered in New York no longer travel

Dr. Thomas Diaz, a doctor in the San Francisco emergency room, volunteered for a month at a hospital in New York during the spring surge.

But now Diaz remains in California.

“I would be worried about leaving here when I might need it in my current home,” Diaz said.

San Francisco is much better than many cities-perhaps because of the early Mask mission and the shelter-in-place order, he said.

However, the situation can change at any time.

“These are unprecedented times for all of us,” Diaz said.

“We see the impact of it from the point of view of the people … we cannot welcome visitors to the hospital, we are isolated from their loved ones at the hospital, and we can potentially die. ”

And he sees young people also hospitalized with Covid-19.

“I have young, otherwise healthy patients, like those in their thirties and forties, who need to be completely knocked out by Covid and hospitalized with hypoxic saturation,” he said.

When a patient with a heart attack does not receive immediate care

In Utah, hospitals are “on the verge of being unable to take more people, especially in our intensive care unit,” said Governor Gary Herbert.

“We don’t have a room with doctors and nurses who can provide health care.”

Utah’s mother, Laurie Terry, learned how difficult it was. And she doesn’t even have a coronavirus.

Eventually, Terry arrived at the hospital with the openings and professional care she needed. But her sister said her condition had deteriorated.

6 hours to the nearest ICU bed available

Large cities have been blamed for previous outbreaks, but the case of Covid-19 is now exploding in rural areas of the country.

Nancy Foster, Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety Policy at the American Hospital Association, said: “Many rural hospitals are less capable of expanding patient care capabilities and have fewer resources to rely on, so there is particular concern about the surge in rural areas.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said hospital capacity is currently a major concern in both rural and urban areas of the state.

She recalled a recent example in the countryside of Kearny County. There was the closest ICU bed available in Kansas City-6 hours drive away.

“We need to (work) to flatten the curve,” said the governor. “We know how to reduce the spread of the virus. We know that masks work.”

Some Covid-19 doctors and nurses can continue to work

Due to the severe staff shortage in North Dakota, asymptomatic health care workers infected with the coronavirus can work in Covid-19 unit health care facilities.

“Our hospital is now under great pressure,” Governor Doug Burgum said when he announced the change on Monday.

Such precautions include daily measurement of the health care worker’s temperature and wearing a face mask.

Retired healthcare professionals ask for help

“Many nurses have retired to address this issue,” said Gerald Brogan, director of nursing practice at the National Nurses United, the largest registered nurses’ union in the United States.

Like many states, Wisconsin is tackling both the onslaught of Covid-19 patients and the heavily strained health care system.

Laura Hieb, Chief Nursing Officer at Bellin Health Systems in Green Bay, said:

So Verin asked a retired health worker to return home.

“They support some of our most-needed areas, such as test sites, follow-up phone calls, and data entry. Some people work in the clinical field, but depending on age and other factors, Most aren’t working on the front lines, “she said.

The healthcare system has relocated or rehired more than 200 people, Hieb said. They include not only retirees, but also “a significant number of Bellin College faculty and students helping with low-level work.”

“There are more inpatients than last time,” Hieb said, saying there are significant differences between the Covid-19 surge this fall and the previous surge.

Doctors claim personal responsibility

For months, Americans had heard that “the curves must be flattened so as not to overwhelm the hospital,” Brogan said.

But again, the hospital has reached or is nearly full, starting to divert patients and delaying certain surgeries. why?

“I think it’s very simple. People won’t behave themselves,” Brogan said.

“Many people think this is a’plan’. They don’t believe in science,” he said.

“There is this myth among young people that Covid is not available. People are not at a social distance. People are not wearing masks. This is a false alarm campaign that exacerbates this pandemic. is.”

Dr. Emily Spivak, who treats Covid-19 patients in Salt Lake City, said it was “very frustrating” for many to not follow simple steps such as physical distance, wearing a mask, and washing their hands. I did.

“I can’t see the end. No one is doing anything to stop what’s happening,” she said.

“It’s like people are out and living unaware that they’re running out of our health care system.”

It’s a tragedy not only for loved ones and colleagues, but also for patients who rely on their care.

Also, exhausted nurses who work 12-hour shifts can take care of twice as many patients as usual, Brogan said.

For those who don’t think this crisis will personally affect you, don’t expect your luck to continue, he said.

“Don’t overwhelm the system. If you don’t have relatives, loved ones, or neighbors suffering from Covid, it will happen in the future unless you follow these basic public health measures.” Brogan said.

“Now it’s a bit of a sacrifice to increase the interests of everyone.”