“In the past three weeks, I have seen more admissions and sicker patients than in the previous ten weeks,” says Dr. Joseph Varon, medical director at United Memorial Medical Center. “It has been an exponential increase in the severity of the disease and in the number of cases that we admit.”
In other hospitals in America, similar scenes.
The trend is worrying: A sharp increase in patients can once again overwhelm hospitals, making critical resources, including staff, beds and fans, scarce.
Some hospitals are already so flooded that they transferred patients to other places, while others are taking steps to prepare for a surge.
The relaxed measures fueled the rapid spread of the virus and the influx of new patients needing hospitalization, some doctors say.
“I live near a beach, and you can see it’s like a party every day,” says Dr. David De La Zerda, ICU medical director and pulmonologist at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Houston hospitals transferred patients
In Harris County, which encompasses Houston and is the most populous county in Texas, at least two hospitals are “at full capacity,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday.
“The threat … Covid-19 represents to our community right now is greater than it has been. There is a severe and uncontrolled spread among our families, friends and communities,” Turner said. “And we have to slow down, so that it doesn’t overwhelm our healthcare system.”
Several hospitals in Houston are still within capacity limits, he said, except for two facilities within the Harris Health System that had to distribute “that load,” Turner said.
“We are actively trying to transfer ICU and surge patients who are COVID positive and under investigation, simply because we do not have the capacity to treat those patients,” said McMurray-Horton.
“Today’s numbers, this week’s, in the past few weeks, are much worse than those of March, April and May. So if we stay on track, we will have capacity problems,” Turner said. .
Hospitals filling up in other parts of the United States
Some local officials and public health administrators are already reporting on the hospital’s capacity with the latest influx of patients.
Across the country, a southern California county reported an intensive care unit capacity of 99% over the weekend, after receiving overwhelmed patients from neighboring Imperial County.
“Since mid-June, there has been a growing health crisis with the increase in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and ICU bedding across our nation, the state of California, and here in Riverside County,” said the supervisor. Victor Manuel Pérez.
The county announced Monday that 96% of all ICU beds were in use, 3 percentage points less than over the weekend.
In Florida, the Jackson Health System reported a 108% increase in patients in just over two weeks in June, the data shows.
“If we continue at the rate we have today, there will be a very high climb, and I don’t know if we won’t have enough beds, but it’s already tight.”
Young and sick
More youth have tested positive for the virus in recent weeks than in the first days of the outbreak, state and local leaders said, warning they may transmit the virus. even if they don’t get seriously ill.
In Florida, De La Zerda says patients admitted to his Miami hospital are younger and sicker than the first time the state saw an increase in cases.
“That is really our main concern,” he told CNN, adding that hospitalized patients who receive on average are between 25 and 45 years old. In previous months, that average was above 65, he said.
De La Zerda, who told CNN patients in the ICU that it doubled from last week, said companies like restaurants shouldn’t be sitting customers, and masks should be mandatory.
“I have no idea why there is so much politics involved in the masks,” he said. “We know that masks help you and help others, so yes, it should be mandatory.”
Los Angeles County Health Officials He said this week that some of the county’s outbreaks date back to parties and gatherings.
While many of the hospitalized patients continue to be older, the county’s director of health services, Dr. Christina Ghaly, said they are beginning to see “a slight shift toward a younger demographic.”
How Hospitals Prepare
Ghaly said that this week, as cases increase in the county, there will soon be insufficient beds for patients who will need hospitalization.
“The number of hospital beds could become inadequate in the coming weeks,” said Ghaly. There are only enough fans in the county to last four weeks, and Ghaly says the county’s projections show a marked increase in death rates.
The hospital system could increase capacity by once again canceling all elective surgeries and adding beds in non-traditional areas such as emergency rooms.
The Jackson Health System in Miami chose to pause all elective and non-emergency surgeries as a result of a steady increase in patients admitted in recent weeks.
“Our clinical leadership has been working diligently during this pandemic to ensure that the safety of our patients and employees is paramount,” the hospital said.
And in Texas, a similar measure: The governor issued a proclamation suspending elective surgeries in at least four counties to ensure there are enough hospital beds for coronavirus patients.
In Arizona, the governor said at least 2,600 beds were available in the event of a sudden increase, noting that the state has begun to see an increase in fan use.
“I want them to know that we are working very closely with our hospitals and our hospital leaders,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “We have worked to make sure that we can develop capabilities within this hospital system.”
“What is the probability that I will survive this acute illness and still be alive within six months or a year from now,” explained Dr. Wynia.
“We want to tell all of the amazing healthcare workers here in Arizona that help is on the way,” he said.
CNN’s Miguel Marquez, Jessica Jordan, Cheri Mossburg, Alexandra Meeks, Rosa Flores, and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
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