#16,200
Increasingly, many hospitals around the nation are operating at - very near - or beyond their capacity due to the summer surge of COVID. We discussed the impact on Florida's hospitals and EMS services 5 weeks ago in Through A Scanner Darkly, and last week looked at Idaho's deteriorating situation (see Idaho DOH Expands Crisis Standards of Care Statewide).
With the fall/winter flu season looming large, and another, even larger COVID wave feared this winter, several states have enacted Crisis Standards of Care (see The Realities Of Crisis Standards Of Care).
On September 8th Washington State's DOH warned of an impending crisis:
Statement on hospital capacity and crisis standards of care
Hospital capacity is currently stressed across the state of Washington. The surge in hospitalizations is one that Washington Department of Health (DOH), with its healthcare partners, has been monitoring closely. At this time, partners across Washington have undertaken a number of strategies to stretch resources and mitigate current challenges.
DOH has adopted and plans to use the ethical framework developed by the National Academy of Medicine, which stresses the importance of an ethically grounded system to guide decision-making in a crisis standards of care situation. It also defines surges capacity within the healthcare systems, during normal operations and disaster operations, as a continuum: from conventional to contingency and finally crisis. The goal is to prevent ever having to utilize crisis standards of care anywhere in Washington.
DOH is working with state, federal, and private partners to mitigate Washington’s health care surge by accessing additional volunteer and contracted resources, coordinating information sharing, and supporting efforts to shift patients to healthcare facilities that can best support their care. DOH encourages Washingtonians to help by doing their part such as getting vaccinated, wearing masks in crowded or indoor public places, and taking other preventive steps.
The DOH website is your source for a healthy dose of information. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for the DOH blog, Public Health Connection.
Yesterday, WA State Governor Inslee officially requested Federal medical staffing assistance, stating that the state's hospitals were currently `at or beyond' capacity. This from the Governor's website:
Inslee letter to Zients requests federal medical staffing resourcesSeptember 20, 2021
In case you missed it: Gov. Jay Inslee sent a letter today to Jeff Zients, federal COVID-19 response coordinator, requesting federal staffing resources, including clinical and non-clinical staff, to support the Washington health care system in response to rising COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The letter reads, in part:
"In Washington State, our hospitals are currently at or beyond capacity, and we need additional assistance at this time. Our hospitals were nearing capacity this summer – before the Delta variant hit our state. Much of this volume was due to delayed care during the early part of the pandemic.
"Once the Delta variant hit Washington state, COVID-19 hospitalizations skyrocketed. From mid-July to late August, we saw hospitalizations double about every two weeks. The hospitals have surged to increase staffed beds and stretch staff and have canceled most non-urgent procedures, but are still over capacity across the state.
"For these reasons, I have directed state agencies to request assistance from the federal government to provide Washington State with medical staff resources to help meet staffing needs in hospitals and in long-term care facilities. To date, the Washington State Department of Health has requested 1,200 clinical and non-clinical staff through the General Services Administration contracting process offered through FEMA.
"I am further requesting the deployment of Department of Defense medical personnel to assist with the current hospital crisis. In announcing the COVID-19 Action Plan, the President indicated that more clinical teams would be available. That assistance will be of significant value in Washington state.
"While there are hopeful signs that the current wave of infection is peaking, and some states are beginning to see declines, we have not yet seen that effect here. Washington State has
historically lagged the country in previous COVID-19 waves, and the same pattern is playing out with the enormous impact we are seeing from the Delta variant."
Read the full letter here.
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We've looked repeatedly over the years at the issues of triage, and the allocation of scarce medical resources, including in HHS ASPR-TRACIE: COVID-19 Crisis Standards of Care Resources and Contemplating A Different `Standard of Care'.
How bad things will get this winter is unknown, and a lot will depend upon whether we get slammed by a `twindemic' of influenza and COVID in the months ahead.
But even at today's COVID surge rates, hospitals are often placed on Divert or Bypass for hours due to having no beds - or staff - available. If you need an ambulance, you may have to wait longer than usual for help to arrive. And elective surgery - or just routine care - are harder to schedule right now, and may be for the foreseeable future.
All of which makes it a smart play to get your COVID vaccine if haven't, along with the seasonal flu vaccine, and to avoid any `risky' behavior that puts you at risk of infection (or injury) this fall and winter.
