Hospitals try to keep pace and close stores during virus outbreaks

California hospitals are fighting to find a bed to accommodate patients for fear that an explosion of coronavirus cases will run out of personnel resources.

As of Saturday, nearly 17,400 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection. This is more than double the previous peak reached in July. A state model that uses current data to predict future trends could reach 75,000 by mid-January. ..

There were more than 3,600 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit.All of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley in District 12 north have run out of their regular stuff intensive care unit Capacity, and some hospitals have begun to use “surge” space. Overall, the state’s ICU capacity on Saturday was only 2%.

Due to the huge number of incidents in the last six weeks, California’s death toll has never been higher. An additional 272 deaths were reported on Saturday, killing about 1,600 last week.

In the hit Los Angeles County, public health director Barbara Ferrer does not interact with people outside the house or wear masks or sociable distances when around others. I called on people to stay home as much as possible.

“A place where people from different households gather and do not comply with safety directives should have contributed to the unnecessary spread of COVID-19, which could have avoided hospitalization and death,” she said. “Following safety measures is our only way to save lives and protect essential workers and our hospitals.”

Los Angeles County health officials announced on Saturday that they have changed their health orders to comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring places of worship to allow outdoor and indoor services, taking appropriate health and safety measures. did.

On Saturday night, Apple Inc. announced that it would temporarily close all 53 stores in California. Coronavirus Outbreak. A state-wide curfew limits retail store capacity to 20%.

Many hospitals are preparing for potential rations as companies struggle during the very busy holiday shopping season. A recently distributed document among doctors at four Los Angeles County-run hospitals calls for a change in strategy. Rather than trying everything to save lives, their goal during the crisis is to save as many patients as possible. This means that people who are less likely to survive will not receive the same type of care as they normally do.

“A compromise of standard treatment is inevitable. The entity, system, or locale did not choose to limit resources. The resources to provide regular care are clearly unavailable.” Read the documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The county’s director of health services, Dr. Christina Garry, said the guidelines weren’t in place as of Friday night, but given the surge and “the worst hasn’t happened yet.” He said it was essential to create.

Many hospitals already do Emergency response Extend space with staff.

Old Corona Regional Medical Center in Southeast Los Angeles emergency room Helps handle nearly twice as much as normal in ICU patients. Because the emergency room is full of patients in need of hospitalization, we are using the space of two disaster tents to triage ER patients.

A new 50-bed alternative care site opened Friday near the Community Community Health Center in Fresno County, which was hit hard in central California. Dan Lynch, director of emergency medical services in the county, said beds for COVID-19-negative patients freed up hospital space in the area where only 13 of the approximately 150 ICU beds available on Friday were available. I said it would be.

Lynch said he expects to use the Fresno Convention Center, which can accommodate up to 250 patients, given current demand.

Fresno and three neighboring counties have also taken an unprecedented step in sending emergency medical care over emergency calls to evaluate people. According to Lynch, if you can go to an emergency facility or wait a few days and talk to your doctor, you won’t be taken to the emergency room.

Some hospitals have canceled non-essential elective surgery, such as hip arthroplasty, which may require a bed that may soon be needed for COVID-19 patients. Others are spending more time on staff or moving patients to free up space.

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